Family GPs are being told to “ration” non-essential blood analysis due to a test tube shortage.
United States concern Becton, Dickinson and Company, which makes the vials for the NHS across the UK, has warned of serious supply chain issues due to the pandemic and transportation issues. The blood collection tubes, called BD Vacutainer, are the plastic cylinders with coloured tops used to collect venous blood samples.
Welsh Government has admitted the four UK nations were “managing a supply issue for products used for blood collection”.
It said in order to preserve supplies for people who urgently need blood tests, the NHS would “reduce the number of non-clinically urgent tests where it is safe to do so”.
Non-urgent tests would only be delayed if the NHS had “assessed it is clinically safe to do so” and urged people to seek treatment as normal.
Bron Derw Medical Centre in Bangor issued a statement on their Facebook page this morning.
“There is a UK national shortage of blood bottles due to a problem with the manufacturer. You may have already heard about this on the national news. ONLY ESSENTIAL blood tests will be booked at the Surgery for the next 2-3 months.
“Please note if you have a blood test already booked, the GP will be reviewing whether these are essential and we may be in touch to cancel your appointment. We are informed that this shortage is temporary and expected to last up to 3 months. This does mean that some tests for some people will be postponed until the national stocks recover. Those patients with the highest risk of need will still receive the blood tests they need, however routine blood tests will have to wait.”
Wales’ Health Minister Eluned Morgan said the new clinical guidance was to preserve supplies for urgent cases.
“Patient safety remains the priority, and a test would only be delayed if the NHS have assessed it is clinically safe to do so,” she said.
“People who require urgent care should continue to seek it as normal.”
The new guidance says GPs can “reduce non-essential testing” including vitamin D testing, and deferring routine infertility testing unless the patient is over 35.
It says allergy testing is “not a priority at this time unless there is clinical need” and routine wellness screening is “not a priority”.
BMA Cymru, which represents doctors, has worked with the Welsh government and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership on guidance on how to conserve supplies.
It is worried about balancing the effect of the shortage with the patients’ needs and that it could lead to a backlog of cases after the pandemic.
BMA Cymru chairman, Dr David Bailey, said “We’ve got a massive shortage across the UK for the next two or three months.
“We rely on these bottles for almost all of the blood tests that we do for patients, both in general practice and in hospitals, so we’re going to have to ration them essentially.
“Patient care will be impacted and while we hope that impact will be minimal, we’re coming out of a massive pandemic and have a big backlog of work.
“The very last thing we need is to push more work down the line, because we haven’t actually got the tools to do the job.”
Diabetes Cymru’s Joshua James said blood tests were “essential” in diagnosing type 2 diabetes.
He said: “It is very important that those previously identified by their GP as being at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes receive their annual checks, including checking their blood glucose levels, and do not fall through the cracks due to a logistical issue.”
NHS Wales said it and the Welsh government were working closely with other nations to source alternatives to affected products.
