Author: Joe Davies for Mailonline
Published: August 28, 2021 08:13 EST | Updated: August 28, 2021 08:13 EST
The British Medical Association warned that the shortage of blood tubes puts doctors and patients in a "terrible and enviable position", and general practitioners face "difficult choices" as to who receives blood tests.
The BMA stated that the shortage of hospitals and GP surgeries is "serious", and if the NHS does not reduce its usage in the next few days, "even the most clinically important blood tests may be at risk."
Earlier this month, in the context of a global shortage of vascular products, the British NHS issued guidance.
Previously, medical technology company Becton Dickinson reported on temporary supply chain issues for tubes used to collect samples in blood tests.
The UK has been plagued by supply chain problems in many industries, gaps have appeared on supermarket shelves, and McDonald's milkshakes have been sold out.
Retailers are calling on the government to issue temporary visas for EU workers to address the shortage of truck drivers that could disrupt Christmas earlier this week.
All clinically necessary blood tests will continue, but other tests have been curtailed.
The BMA urges doctors to follow the instructions and "only perform the most critical tests for the time being."
The British Medical Association warned that the shortage of blood tubes puts doctors and patients in a "terrible and enviable position", and general practitioners face "difficult choices" when it comes to receiving blood tests.
Dr. David Wrigley, Vice Chairman of the BMA Council, said: "This crisis puts doctors and their patients in a terrible and enviable position.
"No doctor will deliberately conduct unnecessary blood tests. Now we must ration all the tests we are doing and cancel hundreds of tests, which runs counter to everything we represent as clinicians."
"However, if we do not try to follow NHS guidelines, it is clear that we will reach the point where even the most urgent clinical blood test may not be completed because we simply do not have test tube blood for testing.
The lack of truck drivers and food processors is partly blamed on the introduction of the new Brexit visa system on January 1, which penalizes low-skilled immigrants in favor of qualified immigrants.
But the bosses said that global factors are also important, including the closure of Chinese ports and the shortage of containers. Due to the shortage of Christmas toys, US Vice President Kamala Harris urged Americans to buy Christmas toys as soon as possible.
Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, told the Daily Mail that so far, the UK has been unable to get rid of its dependence on EU workers who have left due to the pandemic.
The stricter visa regulations that came out on January 1 also hindered the supply of new workers.
The most common complaint from British retailers and food manufacturers is the shortage of truck drivers, which is currently set at 100,000 by the Road Transport Association.
Due to the backlog caused by the lockdown, thousands of prospective drivers are waiting for their HGV test, and many existing drivers have left the UK after Brexit or reunited with their families during Covid.
Importers have also suffered financial blows, due to the lack of containers around the world and the closure of ports that have slowed freight shipments, and transportation costs have risen sharply.
Due to the Covid outbreak, the Chinese authorities recently closed the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, which is one of the largest container terminals in the world.
Gary Grant, founder and executive chairman of the toy chain Entertainer, said that the cost of shipping a container from Asia has increased from US$1,700 to more than US$13,000 (£8,000) in the past year.
"We are at a very dangerous time. It is surprising that NHS England did not announce a serious incident because the NHS organization is likely to temporarily lose its ability to provide life-saving diagnostic tests."
He called on NHS England to provide patients with information about the situation.
Dr. Wrigley added: “Many general practitioner clinics like me now have to spend hours assessing which scheduled examinations can be cancelled and which cannot be cancelled. This will be taken out of front-line patient care when it is most needed. time."
"Cancelling the test can make the patient feel anxious and may mean missed diagnosis."
On Thursday, the NHS boss wrote to England’s general practitioners and hospital trusts to warn that “supply is expected to become tighter in the coming weeks”.
They wrote: "Although this situation is expected to improve from mid-September, overall supply may still face challenges for a long time," adding that "it is important and urgent to reduce demand as much as possible."
We are looking for alternative products, but it is expected that the import and bulk delivery of these products will take time.
The person in charge of health stated that all primary care and community testing must be stopped before September 17, except for "clinical emergency" testing.
Before this date, acute and mental health trusts must reduce their needs by at least 25%.
Dr. Vishal Sharma, chairman of the BMA Advisory Board, said that this reduction is “very worrying” and now requires “cautious” decisions.
He added: "It is shocking that this situation is allowed to develop-especially the apparent over-reliance on a manufacturer and the severe lack of any form of reserve supply.
'The manufacturer should also explain how they allowed the inventory to be so low that patients now suffer from it.
"If we can't solve this shortage quickly, then we can easily fall into a catastrophic situation, especially in hospitals where patients have been severely injured."
NHS guidelines recommend stopping vitamin D testing, except in special circumstances, and postponing routine infertility testing unless the patient is over 35 years old.
It also stated that unless there is a clinical need, allergy testing is “not a priority at this time” and routine health screening is “not a priority”.
The guide also recommends not to store tubes.
Becton Dickinson and the Ministry of Health and Social Care have been contacted for comments.
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