DOCTORS have been ordered to only request “urgent” blood tests for weeks due to national shortages of key kit - including Covid swabs and antibody tests.
It claimed that Covid tests would be prioritised and that they are doing “everything they can” to make sure the NHS is not impacted by this. In an email seen by GP magazine Pulse, one lab boss warned “if any tests are required urgently we can perform these…but it is imperative that we protect the limited reagent supply we have.”
Dr Phil Williams, a GP partner in Lincoln, said: “There’s no such thing as a routine blood test, and they’ve not given any guidance on what is urgent and what isn’t. NHS Test and Trace has already struggled to match government promises of a "world-beating" system, with testing capacity failing to keep up with a surge in demand in September and last week'sThis morning, international trade secretary Liz Truss said Roche are "pushing hard" to resolve the issue and there is "no evidence" of tests being delayed yet.
“The teams at the National Distribution Centre are working exceptionally hard, day and night, to resolve this issue as soon as possible.