We are currently experiencing a shortage of blood test bottles. There is a delay in the global supply chains that produce the bottles, so it’s affecting us, other GP practices and hospitals in the NHS, and other health care providers around the world.
What this means for us and patients here at JHP, is that we are having to be more selective with which blood tests we carry out.
The NHS have issued guidance that non-clinically urgent tests should be postponed. If someone is ill and a blood test would be appropriate to discover if they are suffering a life-threatening situation, then, of course, we would carry out a test.
We will do as much as we can with the supplies we have, but we ask for your patience and understanding if blood tests for allergies or vitamin D levels, for example, need to be postponed.