Get a blood test at Asda!

Jan 3 2009 By Anuji Varma

NHS patients are being offered blood tests while they shop at a Midland supermarket in a controversial bid to cut hospital waiting times.

Asda has set up a clinic at its Great Bridge store in West Bromwich where the sick can be tested for a wide range of illnesses, including sexually transmitted diseases.

Around 30 people a day are currently taking advantage of the service which is based in the privacy of a small room in the 24 hour store.

The scheme is funded by the Primary Care Trust and is available to patients who attend Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust hospitals.

They simply need to take along a doctor’s form which specifies what sort of blood test is needed and a Phlebotomist, who is trained to draw blood, carries out the procedure.

The one-day-a-week supermarket service was launched in September in a bid to cut hospital waiting times after the Trust revealed it was dealing with 38,000 blood tests every month.

Phlebotomy Manager Sukvinder Atkar explained: “The Americans have been offering this kind of service for about five years and it has proved very popular.

‘‘We thought it was a natural step forward for us to expand our service and provide a greater choice of location for patients who don’t wish to come into hospital, find a parking space and then have to queue for what is such a quick procedure.

“Already we have seen a wide range of patients who visit us before they buy their groceries and the feedback is very positive.

‘‘We have a blood collection service which operates three times a day,