18 April 2018
A phlebotomy service provided at Princess House in Shrewsbury town centre is to move to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
From 1 May, GP patients who have previously used Princess House in The Square will be asked to attend Elizabeth House based at the RSH, which already provides walk-in phlebotomy clinics.
The service at Princess House will close on 26 April.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust provides the town centre phlebotomy service to around 300 patients a week. That includes morning appointments for Riverside and Claremont Bank GP Practices, as well as an afternoon walk-in service for all Shropshire GP patients.
However, the contract with Shropshire Community Health Trust to use a room within Princess House has come to an end due to unexpected costs. The two GP surgeries are unable to accommodate the service, and SaTH has, at present, been unable to find an alternative community location.
As a result, SaTH has made available extra space at Elizabeth House to accommodate additional patients.The two phlebotomists at Princess House are employed by SaTH and will relocate to Elizabeth House.
Sheila Fryer, Support Services Care Group Director at SaTH, said: “We are reluctantly having to take this action as a result of the end of the agreement with the Community Health Trust to use this location to provide a community-based service. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to identify an alternative location, although we remain keen to work with healthcare partners, should an alternative location become available in the future. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.”
Patients who use the phlebotomy service at Princess House are asked to contact their GP Surgery or PALS at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital if they have any questions.