Blood tests may be rationed, medics warn

GPS ARE increasingly unable to order blood tests, including those for cancer and serious heart conditions, as the s hortage of Roche components becomes a national crisis.

Experts have warned that the supply failure of blood test swabs and reagent, which could last two to three weeks, risks forcing patients with chronic conditions back into hospital. More than 100 doctors have contacted the Every Doctor campaign group to warn of shortages in their area. In one case, a test ordered for a suspected cancer patient was rejected due to lack of kits.

At Swansea Bay NHS Trust, a staff email warned supplies would run out “if we do not cease all immediately critical blood tests for GP and outpatients”.

This week, Worcestershire Acute Trust ordered local doctors to cancel most blood tests until Oct 17. Other NHS trusts are rationing blood tests.

A GP in Lincolnshire said: “I spent a long time this morning going through almost 50 patients, who were booked in for bloods on Monday next week, to try to rationalise them and decide which could be deferred and which were needed urgently – not something I thought I would ever have to do as a GP working in a developed country.”

Dr Julia Paterson, from Every Doctor, said it was only the availability of weekly blood tests that enabled many patients with serious heart conditions to be at home rather than in hospital.

“This is an incredibly concerning situation which could be a total disaster for patient safety,” she said. “It is spiralling out of control and is going to get worse before it gets better.”

The supply problems are believed to be the result of a factory move by diagnostics manufacturer Roche. The firm, which supplies blood tests for Covid-19, said earlier this week that it would prioritise supplies to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.