Concerns over lack of blood samples taken in Westmorland and Furness
Councillors say patients are having to travel to Carlisle for them
Councillors have expressed their concern that patients living in the Westmorland & Furness area are having to travel as far as Carlisle to have blood samples taken.
On Thursday (November 27) members of Westmorland & Furness Council approved a motion on blood samples and post-operative wound care when they met at Kendal Town Hall.
Councillor Andy Connell (Appleby and Brough, Lib Dem) proposed the motion and he was seconded by councillor John Murray (Kirkby Stephen and Tebay, Lib Dems).
Their motion stated: “That the council notes with great concern the announcement by North Cumbria Integrated Care Trust (ICB) that from September 1 the taking of blood samples and post-operative wound care required by hospital consultants will no longer be provided by the GP surgeries at Kirkby Stephen, Appleby and Temple Sowerby.
“Patients are told they will have to travel to community hubs at either Penrith Hospital or Carlisle Hilltop and will also have to book their own appointments.
“This change not only places additional strain on often vulnerable people but also makes nonsense of the Green aspirations of both the NHS and Westmorland & Furness Council by requiring patients to make much longer journeys, most of which will be by private car, to access care.
“As was confirmed in the response from the ICB to a question put in council on October 9, the reason for this retrograde step is ‘a local funding disagreement’ between ICB and certain GP practices, apparently over relatively small sums.
“That the council calls upon NHS England as a matter of urgency to re-open negotiations between the parties in order to reach an equitable settlement that restores the provision of simple procedures required by hospital consultants to general practice surgeries in the Eden Valley and other locations in Westmorland & Furness. We believe that this will be in everyone’s best interests.”
During the debate cllr Connell said that the current arrangement was not desirable which should ‘change before it becomes an embedded feature’.
He said that it was potentially stressful for some people and added: “This is not really terribly green.”
Cllr Murray said it was a ‘pain in the backside’ and added: “It is a daft dispute over a relatively small amount of money.”
Councillor Peter Thornton (Kendal Strickland and Fell, Lib Dems) said: “It is the same in the south of the county and various parts of the country. It just needs to be sorted out.”
And councillor Adrian Waite (Kirkby Stephen and Tebay, Lib Dems) said that residents in his ward were ‘worried’.
Councillor Matt Brereton (High Furness, Conservative) said: “It doesn’t cost money to start a conversation – it is the least we can expect to have a dialogue.”
Councillor Mary Robinson (Alston and Fellside, Independent) said traffic issues made the journeys difficult and added: “we need to unravel what has gone on and unravel why this has happened.”
And councillor Ali Jama (Upper Kent, Independent) added: “Something needs to be done” and, When the motion was put to the vote, it was approved.
In addition, some GP surgeries across north and west Cumbria have also stopped administering blood tests and other procedures as part of a change in services.
The move follows the decision of some GP surgeries to serve notice on a local ‘secondary care workload agreement’, which had temporarily allowed general practice to support hospital services with specific tasks.
Patients who have had their regular blood tests at the GP will now have to travel to the Cumberland Infirmary, Eden UTC, Wigton, Maryport, Hilltop Heights, or Workington if their GP is part of the change in services.
Speaking in August Dr Robert Westgate, a Carlisle GP and chairman of the North Cumbria Local Medical Committee, said: “We’ve seen a significant increase in work passed from other parts of the health system to GPs, including prescriptions, referrals and test follow-ups that fall outside the scope of our contracts.
“This is something we now need to address, not to pass on responsibility, but to ensure that general practice can remain safe, available and sustainable for the future.
“These changes will ensure patients still receive the care they need—often more directly from the specialist service managing their condition.
“We will continue to work constructively with our colleagues across health and care settings to support patients appropriately.”
Patients are asked not to contact their GP practice about these changes. Practices will provide information directly to those affected and will ‘continue to support patients in navigating the updated pathways’.