Global bottle shortage hits Shropshire as online blood test booking paused

The NHS in England and Wales said it has temporarily stopped all non-urgent testing.

Doctors have been told to stop most blood tests until September 17, while hospitals have had to cut the total number of blood tests by a quarter.

The online booking service affected in the county is operated by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

The trust says anyone who needs a test for urgent health problems will still get one.

However, where clinicians recommend that it is safe to do so, patients may be asked to come back for a test at a later date or appointments could be rescheduled.

Any patients affected by the decision will be contacted and informed of the action required.

Given the nature of the shortage, SaTH says it is not possible to give an exact date for when tests will be rescheduled.

The trust added that where conditions or symptoms require it, patients will get a test and it will rebook tests when supplies become more easily available.

Further information will be posted on the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), SaTH, and Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System websites as it becomes available.

Claire Parker, director of partnerships at Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin CCG, said: “We appreciate how frustrating this is for patients, but the global shortage of blood bottles has meant that there is no option but to preserve our supplies of the bottles for urgent and emergency care.

“We thank you all in advance for your understanding during this unprecedented situation and we aim to keep patients updated on the situation.”

It has been reported that Becton Dickinson (BD) - which makes blood test vials for the NHS - is now ramping up imports to try to alleviate serious shortages of test tubes.

The tests put on hold include those given to patients to diagnose fertility, allergies and pre-diabetes.

The NHS undertakes around 1.1 billion diagnostic tests in England per year, according to the Royal College of Pathologists.

The shortage will likely worsen over the next few weeks and last until mid-September, NHS England has warned.

.