New booking line for blood tests at Mildenhall Health Centre
We recently introduced an appointment-only system for blood tests at Mildenhall Health Centre. This is to help avoid long delays for patients when coming for tests, and to help us ensure social distancing.
Patients have told us they have had some problems getting through to book a test, so from Monday, 26 April we are moving to a dedicated phone number for booking blood tests.
From 26 April, patients should call 0300 303 5299 to book - lines are open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Clinic times for blood tests remain Monday to Friday, 9am to 12.10pm. Calls are free from landlines and included in most mobile call bundles.
Patients should continue to call 01638 583200 to contact the health centre for other help, but will need to call the new number for blood tests from 26 April onwards.
Patients can also now book their blood test at Mildenhall Health Centre online.
Update on changes to West Suffolk phlebotomy
From the start of April, outpatient and GP phlebotomy services at West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Community Hospital and Mildenhall Health Centre moved to an appointment-based system, following on from similar arrangements already in place at Sudbury Community Health Centre.
We would like to apologise for any disruption caused to GPs and patients by these changes, introduced in response to a significant increase in demand that has created unpredictable waiting times for patients and made it difficult to maintain social distancing in clinics.
The Trust believes the new appointment system – which is similar to that used in other local phlebotomy clinics - will help us address these issues and improve the overall patient experience.
We are grateful to those GPs who have given feedback on the changes and is continuing to review the service to introduce extra capacity to make more appointments available.
Please contact us to receive a guide for GPs on registering for and using the Swiftqueue online booking system. When using Swiftqueue, GPs do not need to take any special steps to book urgent appointments. All available slots - including for the same day - will be automatically shown to you when you are logged in; simply book the first available slot. For non-urgent appointments, patients should book directly online or by phone at a time convenient for them.
We would like to assure GPs that every patient arriving without an appointment has been seen and given information on using the new system for their next test.
As ad hoc demand reduces, we will continue to open up new near-date appointment slots. The Trust is also looking to restore Saturday appointments and extended operating hours at West Suffolk Hospital, and will provide more details on this as soon as possible.
The Trust looks forward to working with GPs and the CCG on a transformation piece of work to address what it can do to support phlebotomy services across the region.
Patient-facing details for the new arrangements are available here: http://wsh.nhs.uk/bloodtests
If you would like to provide feedback or need help with booking, please contact path-managers@wsh.nhs.uk for assistance.