Normally getting blood samples taken at West Berks/Newbury hospital involves a
wait of around 30-40 minutes, and the staff have a blackboard up showing what current waiting time is.
You just roll up and can't make bookings.

Yesterday morning (Th 12th) it was an unacceptable 2 hours due to "staff shortages" we were told.

As many having blood drawn have to fast from night before,
so there's at least 12 hours of abstinence, as it were,
some will have found themselves to start feeling a bit weak.

As many there are obviously ill/elderly, the powers that be,
really need to address; staff there claimed it's been like this since New Year.


NHS need to have more respect for other peoples time in my opinion.

See if your GP surgery nurses take blood. You might find it less hassle.

A pretty poor service if one's needs require the blood being taken first thing in the morning.

Yes, it was much worse than usual. I took a gentleman there yesterday for a blood test just before midday when it's usually a bit quieter. Not much fun for those waiting, but I had time for an excellent lunch - sweet chilli chicken with roast potatoes for £3. The chef there is pretty good.

maybe if we all paid more tax .....

Unfortunately Downland Practice has not had a blood lady for some time, and no
current plans to get replacement.

I agree, I have been to Newbury Hospital before when I broke my finger. I was sat there for about 3 hours before I was even seen and then after being told I had a broken finger (which I already knew) I was told to go to Reading Hospital to get a cast.

Additionally I had some blood tests when I was about 15 and it took about 2 hours. I had Glandular Fever at the time, trust me that was not pleasant.

Not so good as a hospital, not bad for a small restaurant, it seems.

If you had a broken finger (and knew it) surely a trip straight to casualty would have been a better choice?

Had it had been on my own time, yes - I agree. Unfortunately for me it happened at work which meant I had to go straight to the closest hospital at the time, health and safety init. It was like 2 and a half years ago now and I worked down Hambridge Road then.

I don't think it's fair to criticise the hospital for that though.

The old hospital had a far wider time bandwidth. Not all Doctors surgeries in Newbury take blood - so the Hospital is still needed. The reduction in customer service (vis time taken and time bandwidth is nothing to do with funding. Its down to management. Yes, I have complained, twice, and had the same answer. We are looking into making improvements. There is no really effective customer champion and the NHS is a national sacred cow so people are reluctant to complain. Its not a free service after all - we do pay. National Insurance and Tax, indeed rather a lot. Its often said that the NHS has too many managers. Actually, it hasn't enough....good ones that is!

agree; if there was competition in the health service, we would use an alternative!

How do you know this is just down to management? If it is, at what level?

There is competition in the provision of health services.

Here's a couple of examples http://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/ and http://www.bupa.co.uk/.

Rubbish!

That's not competition.

So if I choose one of these I can stop paying NI and tax contributions to the NHS can I?

I'm not aware of any UK private medical care facility offering drop-in A&E, outpatient service, etc. All the private services I know of have cherry-picked the manageable sections - they know almost to the minute how many patients they will have and how many staff they will need.

Drop-in services mean 'reasonable' numbers have to be present throughout regardless of demand - which could be nil.

As for the lack of phlebotomists at Newbury, I don't know enough of the overall situation to know whether it is bad management or an unavoidable outcome of some other eventuality.

If on that particular day they had allowed someone holiday, and were one short but planned in advance, and the rest knew they were picking up the extra, and then one of those team members went sick - they would be two down and struggling. It happens all over the place all the time. Now if it was every day that this was happening that would be different but this seems; from the postings here so far, not to be the case.

Simply because I've taken the trouble to discuss the matter with them on two separate occasions - as mentioned in previous post. The percentage allocation of funds to this basic operation has remained unaltered. The only thing that differed locally was the move to the new premises. This was coincident with centralising certain services in Reading, but in this case, no one could come up with a sound reason for doing that.

I'm not sure what you mean by level - perhaps you are mistaking the term management for supervision?

NHS management starts from the Health Secretary down.

I think you missed the point. It does not take 3 hours of waiting for a 15 minute consult to tell me I have a broken finger. Members of staff at the reception should be able to tell and would be if they were trained in anything other than "gossiping" and "typing patient details really slowly on the keyboard".

And as I said the 2 hour wait in a relatively empty hospital (probably 3 or 4 other people in the waiting room) for a 5 minute blood draw was not acceptable. I mean ******** I could have given them blood to "take away" but oh no "must be taken with a needle sir...".

So receptionists should be trained in orthopedics?

They get like a 3 day induction on how to perform CPR, I'm sure they can spare 5 minutes to provide basic A+E training and an ability to tell whether a finger is broken or on how to draw blood, something which my classmates could easily achieve in year 7 when one of them very kindly cut half my finger off.

After all, if you work in an A+E ward you should be taught the basics... it's our tax payers money which provide them with their salary, we should get the most out of our tax contributions don't you agree?

If you work in an A+E ward maybe. But West Berkshire Community Hospital quite clearly has large signs outside it saying NO A and E. Don't you agree?

I wouldn't call a broken finger nor a blood test an "accident" nor an "emergency". Well the finger was an accident but it wasn't an emergency. It was a MINOR INJURY for which there is a clinic there.

Broken bones do not come under the heading 'minor injuries'. Your whinge was that receptionists couldn't treat broken bones, now you want them to do blood tests as well? You also stated that they get 3 days CPR training. No they don't.

You also said the reason you went there was '"health and safety innit". I challenge you to find any piece of H & S legislation, or any piece of H & S documentation that says should a person sustain an injury they must go to the nearest inappropriate hospital.

Um, I challenge you to explain in less than 30 words how a broken Index Finger on my left hand can be classed as anything other than a"minor injury". While it's in some peoples nature to ***** and moan about a papercut or similar, personally I don't.

I know someone who got a broken finger and took 2 weeks off work (they worked in a sort of dry cleaning thing) and made a big boo-hoo-attention-seeking whine about it at every single possible opportunity. Where as when it happened to me, they took me to the hopsital, back to the motor factor warehouse I used to work at (I would do the picking and loading in the vans, dealing with deliveries, so a lot of lifting, manual labour with HANDS etc) where I then rode my motorcycle home (yup, left hand is clutch!!!) and was back at work, at 8:30 the next morning. I didn't even tell my Mum who I lived with at the time and my friend only noticed when I wouldn't make a pinky promise.

I said that I didn't need to go to the hospital, as I was pretty much knew what had happened, but in the event of possible broken bones, serious bloodless, etc it was in the company policy that a hospital visit was necessary. Hope that satisfies you. (not in that way)

And yes, because everything I say is factually evident and not an "off the pill" comment at all. In actual fact I just spout crap to make you feel good about correct other people.

I'm not moaning that I had to go to the hospital itself, that's just how it goes; but the fact they took 3 hours to tell me, in about 15 minutes, a something which anyone with half a brain who had been working in a medical environment for more than 5 minutes could have told me on the door. Further to that my good man, I wasn't moaning that the receptionist couldn't diagnose me per se, it was that if they were as interested in actually learning about the profession they worked in.

Looking around online it seems the average sort of salary for a receptionist at a Hospital is about £19-£21k a year. That's quite a lot of money all things considered. I think they should have more qualifications than a Health and Safety certificate (takes 2 minutes to get), a "trained first aider" (takes about 3 hours to get and you learn nothing, trust me as I have done the course) and a brownies badge to their name. With the apparently attempts at cost reduction, etc, why shouldn't receptionists etc at Minor Injury/A&E clinics should be trained to an appropriate level. I'm not saying Dr House levels of diagnostic abilities but they should be able to tell a broken bone from a minor sprain.

That way when it's busy they can take a few people off reception (normally there is 2 or 3 people to process about...5 patients an hour??) and process people who are waiting more quickly.

And the time that I was required to go to the hopsital, for a blood test, as instructed by my GP, went to hopsital ON TIME for my BOOKED APPOINTMENT and yet I wasn't seen until hours afterwards, as I was sat there wanting to die. Have you ever had Glandular Fever? It's not nice...

Talking of that, biddly bong de boo da bee.

We'll take that as a 'no' then.

Guess you don't understand the "company policy" bit then.

Why didn't reception suggest you go to straight to Reading or Basingstoke?


XJ: "Hello, I think I've broken my finger."

Newbury Hospital: "OK, it is best we have a look, but there is a 3 hour wait. If it is broken, you will have to go to Reading or Basingstoke anyway, so perhaps you would be better off going straight there now?"

See, what you're doing here is confusing a triage nurse with a receptionist.

That would have been acceptable too!!! but no!!!!!

Apologies Massifeheed I make that mistake often.

No, provides strategy and direction. Management is a defined role / skill.

Sorry, but I disagree.

What with the Chartered Management Institute? Care to elaborate?

Management is a rather open term and can refer to a number of levels. I know of three: Upper, middle, and lower.

I had to have blood taken this morning.

Having read this thread I thought I'd go prepared so took a book (Michael Connelly, brilliant!)

No issues whatsoever. On arrival there were quite a few waiting but the staff got through those quickly and I didnt have to read more than 2 pages of said book.

All staff were polite friendly and efficient.

The only issue I have was actually with the printed test form provided by my GP which said that those fasting / on warfarin would be prioritised which was not the case.

Overall the slowest thing at the hospital were those ridiculous electronic doors on going in!

gel I think you must've caught the blood dept on a bad day!

What time did you go? They say that Warfarin/fasting patients should attend before 10 and that others should not turn up before that. So the "prioritising" is based on time of attendance.

I agree with you about the doors - I walk faster than they open, hence my flat nose (no, not really ).

And the Secretary of State does not fit any of those categories. Upper ands middle are expressions - have you ever heard of ny one describinbg themselves as a 'lower manager' an oxymorion if ever there was one

So if you aren't fasting you should loose half a day? Great!

No, just go in later.

Yes, a Secretary of State is in post to implement strategy, and not does deal with day to day "management".

However, if Andy Capp is making the point that the "buck stops" with the Minister regarding management decisions in his/her department, then that is reasonable comment.

SoS is upper management by default. I have, however; heard the term middle management/managers, that must mean there are subordinate managers and superior managers (viz, upper, lower, middle).

All that being said, I now understand what you mean anyway.


Some bloods have to be taken first thing, otherwise the sample is potentially not reliable enough for testing. For some people, fasting is an ordeal; people who are hypogonadal (or who are having their testosterone levels monitored) or diabetics for instance.

Not easy if you are paid by the day and commute, Not easy to have bllood tests outside your own health area.

Quite, but its all aboutr managing demand. A bit of imaginative thinking coupled with the use oif existing technoloigy and problem could be solved. i.e - no reason why bloods coukld not be tested outside your own health area and results 'secure emailed' tio your GP. I could be done in Leeds at lunchtime if necessary.

My understanding is that bloods are not tested on site, but are taken to Reading (or there about). I believe some blood has to be tested 'quickly'.

One thing is for sure, the NHS is just too big and is unable to 'think on its feet'. If your circumstances are not 'normal', the NHS can be hard work.

As I understand it, the reason Warfarin should be done early is that it needs to catch the first collection so that results can be obtained quickly. Warfarin is notorious for needing a quick change of dosage up or down, often from week to week, and notified from Reading by phone call. Most people would want a fasting blood test done early for different reasons - not to catch the early collection necessarily, but to be able to eat and drink again!

I can sympathise with commuters etc. - perhaps a different method of prioritising would be better - two different queues for example, with two different sets of number cards.

Spot on! Arguably its now certainly not a 'National' service implying the whole Kingdom is served in the same way - given that the Scots and Welsh `in particular have radically different rules.

It looks as if there is a self test Warfarin process about to go live which should start to aleviate the issue somewhat.