GP practices in Southampton and the surrounding areas have restarted booking in non-urgent blood tests following a temporary pause.
The laboratory services at University Hospital Southampton launched a new computer system earlier this month and reported a few issues with the new system, which resulted in a delay of blood samples being processed.
For this reason, the NHS requested that GP practices in Southampton and the surrounding areas, and Southampton General Hospital, only book in urgent blood tests for a period to allow for this issue to be resolved.
The NHS has now confirmed that GP surgeries can return to the usual combination of urgent and routine testing.
Further updates are needed to help the system code the tests, and while this takes place it is taking longer for GPs to receive and review the results.
This additional time may have an impact on the number of appointments a GP surgery can offer while the system coding issue is resolved.
What does this mean for patients?
If you have recently had a blood test, your GP surgery will have advised you on how the results from the laboratory will be shared with you following review by your practice.
If you do not hear from your GP surgery within four working days (Monday to Friday) of the date of your blood test, please visit your practice website for further advice.
NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight continues to work closely with both the hospital trust and GP practices affected to support resolving the remaining issues.
We are thankful to staff within our GP surgeries and Southampton Hospital for their support in responding to the need to keep patients safe while all remaining issues are resolved.
We thank all patients and their carers for their patience and understanding while this is worked through.
James Roach, Director of Primary Care, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Dr Zaid Hirmiz, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight
You can read information shared by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust here: https://www.uhs.nhs.uk/whats-new/news/information-regarding-blood-test-services-provided-by-university-hospital-southampton