Letterkenny University Hospital has begun outsourcing blood samples due to a lack of capacity in the Blood Science Department.
The hospital is experiencing an ‘increased volume of requests’ for the Blood Science Department both from in-house and GPs, Saolta has said.
The issue has led to delays over the past week, with some Donegal GPs raising concerns that tests may have to be redone due to delays rendering samples unusable.
Kilcar activist Linda Boyle, who is seeking election for Sinn Féin in the Donegal LEA, fears there will be a knock-on impact.
She said: “I have been made aware that the lab in Letterkenny University Hospital that processes blood tests have informed GPs of significant delays in processing blood tests from this week.
“They have said that if not done by the close of day yesterday they will have to submit new bloods, impacting outpatient appointments and oncology treatment.
“This means that patients will have to make an appointment back with their GP to get blood tests redone and resent.
“This is totally unacceptable and I believe will cause chaos over the next while until the issue at LUH is resolved.”
“The people of Donegal deserve better than this,” Linda added, commenting that her party will be making enquiries to make sure this matter is resolved as soon as possible.
A spokesperson for Saolta confirmed to Donegal Daily that there is a need to increase capacity in the blood science department at Letterkenny University Hospital.
They said: “The hospital is currently reviewing a number of options to address this workload pressure including an extension to increase the physical size of the Department, similar to the recent extension of the Microbiology Department.
“While the hospital seeks the necessary approvals and funding for this capital project, an interim solution has been put in place. LUH is now outsourcing samples to meet the excess demand in the short term. We will continue to work to find the most appropriate solution for the hospital and local GPs going forward.”
