Health chiefs reveal blood testing service plans amid overload at New QEII Hospital
New QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City [Picture: Alan Davies] - Credit: Alan Davies
Health chiefs have pledged to expand local blood testing services after reports of patients queuing down the New QEII Hospital’s halls.
East and North Herts NHS Trust chief executive, Nick Carver, previously conceded that the service’s demand had “exceeded capacity” and was causing long waits.
A spokeswoman for the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said it had been working on a new blood testing service for some time.
She added: “We want the service to meet the needs of our growing population and make it possible for more people to have blood tests closer to home.
“The old contract expires at the end of March 2019 and we aim to have the new service in place by April 2019.”
You may also want to watch:
MP Grant Shapps, who has been pressuring the trust and CCG as part of his Make Healthcare Local Campaign, welcomed the move, but added the overload was something people warned of when the old QEII Hospital was downgraded.
“Blood testing at the QEII is a major issue at the moment,” Mr Shapps said. “Along with my constituents, my own family has experienced queues down the corridor and waits of over two hours.
Most Read
- 1 The latest court results for Welwyn Hatfield and Potters Bar
- 2 Closing the New QEII at night permanently still to be considered
- 3 When Spielberg and Tom Hanks came to Hatfield for filming
- 4 Exploring the challenges of being furloughed during lockdown
- 5 'Heavy snow' expected across Hertfordshire from tomorrow
- 6 Charity's face mask exempt cards sold at an inflated price on Facebook
- 7 Is lockdown working in Herts? Here's what the latest data tells us
- 8 Head of planning to leave for county council role
- 9 Who is Lady Danbury in new Netflix series Bridgerton?
- 10 Welwyn Hatfield's links to new Disney+ series WandaVision
“Frankly, I am shocked that a relatively new hospital cannot properly provide a service which underpins such a large number of treatments.”