Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about their experiences with the new system. After raising those concerns in writing and in a meeting with the local hospital and local health board, I’m pleased to report some improvements:
Urgent blood tests can still be conducted same day. Your GP can give you a paper referral and there is a ‘front of house’ person at the clinic who will fast-track you. This is being facilitated for cancer patients too.
The phone line has been fixed and improved: it’s now open 9am-3pm, Mon-Fri. The average call wait is now 3 mins.
The 3-week wait (from point of referral to getting blood tests) was far too long. They’ve managed to get it down to 10-13 days and are trying hard to reduce it further.
The average wait time in clinic for those with appointments is now just 5 mins
They are actively looking for additional staff capacity from within St. Albans City Hospital, across the three West Hertfordshire hospital sites, and within local GPs to expand capacity even further.
Lots of people have booked appointments and not turned up. 1,300 just last month. A text reminder system will be set up soon.
I will continue to work with the local health board and West Herts Hospital Trust, to ensure anyone who needs a blood test is able to get one in good time, and to make sure no constituents face digital exclusion.