Patient Update: Changes to Chronic Disease Annual Blood Tests – Effective April 1st, 2025

Dear Patients,

We are pleased to inform you that starting April 1st, 2025, our practice will be offering in-house ANNUAL chronic disease blood tests as part of our ongoing efforts to improve patient experience and increase efficiency in the delivery of care. This change is designed to provide quicker access to blood tests for patients with long term chronic conditions requiring a monitored review, reducing waiting times and streamlining your care.

However, please note that all GP-requested blood tests and medication monitoring tests that are not related to chronic disease, and repeat checks outside of the annual review, will still be carried out by GP+, our external service provider. This includes routine blood tests requested by your GP for general health monitoring or other medical concerns.

We are making this change despite the ongoing challenges facing primary care, including underfunding of essential services like phlebotomy.

Unfortunately, we will not be receiving funding for this service, but we are committed to improving your care and will absorb the costs of providing in-house blood tests for chronic disease patients.

This decision was made with the goal of enhancing the overall patient experience, reducing waiting times, and providing a more efficient and accessible service to you.

We understand that access to timely healthcare is crucial, and we are dedicated to doing everything we can to support our patients, even in the face of financial challenges.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. 

List of conditions for ANNUAL birthday review blood test to be done by the practice:

Any additional blood tests required will be directed to GP+ as usual 

Atrial fibrillation

Dementia 

Diabetes 

Heart failure/ coronary heart disease 

Hypertension

Learning disabilities 

Mental health physical review

NHS health checks

Pre-diabetes/ gestational diabetes 

Peripheral arterial disease

Stroke and TIA