Ruby Country Medical Practice recently announced that from April, it would no longer be providing blood tests requested by hospitals at its surgeries in Holsworthy and Hatherleigh.
It said in a statement to patients that the funding offered to provide the service on behalf of NHS Devon was insufficient for it to be sustainable and therefore it would no longer offer the provision, meaning patients in the Holsworthy and Hatherleigh areas who had a blood test requested by the hospital would potentially have to travel miles to have the test taken.
NHS Devon has said that it is working with the medical practice to find a resolution to the issue to ensure patients can continue to access hospital ordered blood tests at the surgery beyond the end of March.
Ruby Country Medical Practice, told patients that a resolution had not yet been found, adding: “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to sign up for the new Hospital Phlebotomy Locally Enhanced Service (LES). Unfortunately, the funding provided does not cover the actual costs required to run the service safely and effectively within our Devon practices.
“As a practice, we must ensure long-term sustainability to continue delivering high-quality care to our patients. This is always our highest priority. We have expressed our concerns to both the NHS Devon ICB and the Hospital Trust, that we are keen to explore alternative solutions to prevent patients from having to travel to hospitals for blood tests. However, despite our willingness to work collaboratively on this issue, we have not yet received a response from them.
“As a result, from April 1, we will no longer be able to process hospital-requested blood tests at our Holsworthy and Hatherleigh practices. Instead, all hospital blood test requests will need to be carried out by the hospital that requested them.”
In response to the statement issued by Ruby Country Medical Practice, a spokesperson for NHS Devon said: “NHS Devon is working with the practice to identify a solution for patients to ensure they can continue to access hospital ordered blood tests after the end of March.
“At present, patients can continue to follow the current process, and they will be updated on how they access hospital ordered blood tests from April, ahead of any changes.”