You would think that it would be quite a simple task to arrange to get a blood test. When I lived in Astcote I could drop in to the Medical Centre in Greens Norton, a couple of miles away, and arrange one. In fact, because this was always something that a doctor had asked me to do, they would originally get staff there to tell me when I could have the test. That changed, maybe because not everyone might have been available on the dates advised, and instead I would get a text message to ask that I make the booking. That always worked simply and I never needed to wait more than a few days which, bearing in mind the doctor needed to know what was going on in and around my body, the sooner he got some results the better.
When I moved to Bozeat, I had to register with a new surgery and that was in Woollaston, again just a few miles away and quite convenient. During my initial meeting with a Practice Nurse there she took some blood as a matter of routine and I was thinking that the system would be much the same as before for future tests. Being just above the acceptable numbers for diabetes, I get asked to do a blood test a couple of times a year and, now in my 70s too, there may be other checks they wish to do from time to time so this business of getting a blood test needs to be efficient and timely.
That test, back in January 2024 or thereabouts was the last one I had. I have had all sorts of messages from some NHS organisation or another telling me I should arrange another one but I have singularly failed to do so with any success. The whole NHS process seems in complete disarray around here. I first enquired whether my local surgery could do one like before but I was told they can't do that any more. I am not sure why and didn't bother to ask. I have to call a number to arrange this. There is an alternative of visiting a website but the website advised me that there were no available appointments at either of the two centres that are vaguely convenient, one in Wellingborough and the other in Irthlingborough. Neither are particularly close but they were the best of the bunch. There's another in Kettering but I remember the one occasion I had to go there for another purpose was a nightmare; parking being something that required a great deal of skill in the tiny spaces allocated in a most extraordinary two-story affair that was more like a big car transporter than a car park. It was also a long walk from any facilities at the hospital. All in all, a place I was not at all interested in returning to.
I enquired at the local Medical Centre in the village where I can collect my prescriptions. The lady there was helpful and, because I actually wanted to make two consecutive appointments as my wife now also needed to have a blood test, I hoped she might be able to do something. She failed too, however. My concern was that even if I did manage to find one appointment for me at some point in the future, that might be the sole one available and so the idea of making two at about the same time would be a potential non-starter. As it was, the 'no appointments are available at this time' message saved me from having to worry about that as I couldn't even make the one!
I returned to look online and wondered whether I might call the place in Wellingborough direct and make a couple of appointments that way. There are websites galore out there but even using a search facility with what looks like the official one for this area I get no result for 'blood test'. One has a small block of letters A-Z to help people find services but absolutely nothing happened when I clicked on B. I am usually pretty good at finding my way around on the web but failed miserably to find any useful information on the Isebrook Outpatient Centre in Wellingborough. I did find a number but when I rang that it said the number wasn't recognised! That is the sort of thing that should get a web administrator sacked.
I found an 0300 number for Isebrook Hospital rather than the Outpatients place and rang that. It was nice to get an answer quite quickly but the lady told me I would have to call another number. This was 01536 494411. I called that and get a recorded message from a gentleman to tell me that there would be a considerable delay in answering my call and that I should, in any event, just go online to make an appointment for a blood test at Kettering. I did hang on for a while but there wasn't even the usual canned music coming down the line but a succession of odd noises which, if they had been intended to ensure I didn't hang on, were very successful in their purpose. I had called the previous lady at 3pm. She did warn me that the line was only open from 8am to 4pm which I had thought a bit strange. I said to her at the time that I didn't think there should be a problem as there was about an hour to go. She didn't respond to that comment and now I see why. I rather suspect that no-one answers that number anyway, whether between 8am and 4pm or not.
So I go back online and now I am getting desperate. Whilst my preferred choices are still not available there is somewhere called Northants County Council in Kettering. I wonder that this is more likely to be for people arranging to talk about Council matters rather than appointments for a blood test - or is this just an alternative title for the dreadful place in Kettering that I really do not want to return to? I mean, going there to have one's blood tested is likely to give some weird readings due to all the stress involved in attempting to park one's car without it getting scratched in that ridiculous car park and searching for the right place to go afterwards.
I selected this Northants Council option, though, to see what is was all about and completed enough to get me to a point where I get an address. Bowling Green Road, Kettering. I look this up on Google Maps and it is some distance from the dreaded hospital. That's encouraging but I still can't be sure it's somewhere that actually does blood tests. I use StreetView to drive around and there's this massive Council building. I mean, it has to be a Council building as no normal business would have enough spare resources to afford such a pile. Our endless supplies of rates and taxes, though, can be funnelled by faceless bureaucrats into nice properties and glorious offices for the leaders. I'm not saying that Councils should all do business in grotty terraced houses in some dilapidated area but I do object to all the fancy, expensive stuff which most companies can't afford or whose shareholders would have good reason to object to. Companies that do make substantial profits and provide good returns for shareholders can spend those profits as they please and lord it over the area but Councils do not make profits, they collect our money and are obliged to spend it as efficiently as possible on providing services. Part of that service is, of course, to provide good working conditions for staff so offices are necessary but not ruddy great piles of expensive city centre estate. But all that is another story. Suffice it to say, the main driveway up to the front of the building did not look like either a place I should be able to park or the door an entrance for people needing blood tests.
In the comments you get on Google Maps, however, someone had complimented the staff on doing an efficient blood test so I guessed it might be worth finding out more. On StreetView I spotted a sign for where Council staff and visitors should park and followed the road around a corner and a reasonably big and open space car park where I reckoned it might be feasible to park and not gather umpteen scratches. Quite where the entrance for blood test visitors was I was not able to establish and the website was vacant on all this anyway. However, I thought that I'd try an appointment or two here. It's a long stretch from Bozeat but I'd book a couple of slots if I could and I could always cancel if something better turns up or someone reads this and decides that it's time to sort out appointment life properly for us here.
I started the booking session again and selected this Council place. At last, I did get some options. Lots of times available but the first were on 14 August. That's six weeks away and I'm not sure we'll both be here but I had to book something so I booked 1:10pm for me. Then I restarted and kept my fingers firmly crossed that there would still be a 1:20pm appointment for my wife. There was, although there was also a 1:10pm one which made me wonder whether my first effort had actually worked! I decided not to worry too much about that and confirmed the second and made a note of the long reference numbers as requested.
So, I have managed to make two appointments but at a place miles away and not without some difficulty along the way. I find it quite extraordinary that staff can't be employed to answer phones promptly and help people with things like this. Or by all means have an online booking system but have one that doesn't just say 'nothing available'. There must surely always be some slots available but the software used doesn't handle that properly. Anyone managing this element of the service does not deserve the massive salary that I am quite sure they receive. It's a failure and cannot be blamed on excessive demand or COVID. It should be fairly easy to estimate the number of people who will need to make an appointment and assign sufficient staff who can do other tasks while not answering calls too. The websites are all pretty dreadful and seem like islands in a stream of data presentation with no common theme other than a lot of NHS logos and blue.
I don't know what one is supposed to do to get an appointment to talk to a doctor or someone qualified to advise.
Let's try:
First I'll search for the surgery on Google.
That's not a great deal of help as nowhere does it tell me how to make an appointment. I'll try the Contact details.
OK, that gives me a number but is there not something more, like whether I can book online or when I have to call about something? I'll visit the surgery website. Thought that's what I had already done but obviously not! See what I mean about disconnected sites?
Here goes:
Eh? What's Albany House? Who are Anima Health? is that a misprint for Animal Health and I've arrived at a Vets by mistake? Weird. I tried the link again. Same result. More web errors and more sackings I'd suggest.
Now I'm stuck. I'll try a new search.
This looks more hopeful. Maybe because it appears to be outwith the NHS web environs!
There's even a 'Book appointments' button. (Bet it doesn't do blood tests though.)
Let's see what it does do.
So far so good but nowhere is there any advice about making an appointment for a blood test. There's a number to call to see a doctor the same day which sounds impressive but I can't see that actually working unless you call at 8am on the dot and beat everyone else or just happen to strike lucky later on. I have heard of people having to hang on for ages as the early birds always keep the lines full for an hour or so at least by which time one would expect the slots all to have been filled. The better bet, and one that might lead me to a blood test appointment too, is to use the SystemOnline link perhaps.
Here goes,
Oh dear. That was going well too. Although the page didn't mention blood tests you could specify why you wanted an appointment. Well, you could if you could actually make one but at 20 August there were no further future options. Much like how it all started with the system for blood tests at the places I wanted to go to at the outset.
I really do not believe that every slot at my local surgery is booked between now, 7 July and 20 August. I mean, if they were then how could anyone call - even at 8:00am - and get one?
I spotted this in small print on the SystemOnline page after logging in. Easy to miss.
Maybe I can ask a question there and get someone to arrange that appointment. I do also have another query about some trial medicine anyway so I may try this.
No red button. So that's a load of nonsense too!
I finally managed to ask a question using a Contact facility within the site. I had to say that this was not a question for a clinician or it wouldn't let me start but my query was about a trial of a new drug I have been invited to join so I am not sure whether it needed a 'clinician' or not. When submitting it, however, I noticed that there as a facility to approve my details being used to triage my query in a clinical fashion so maybe somebody will deal with it. We'll just have to wait and see. Most users will, however, definitely have stopped at that point.
I downloaded an app on my phone in the hope that that might have some facility to ask questions or send messages. None were apparent and the appointment system tried to book me in at some unknown clinic! When I went to ask for one nearer to me in the hope it might find the one I am supposed to use all that happened was that I was directed to Google Maps and shown Woolaston and Bozeat surgery once again. I guess I was expected to call the number or something so the app was totally basically useless.
At this point, apart from including a reference to not knowing how my drugs are doing as I can't get a blood test until mid-August in my query above, which might just make someone think this is all a bit of a bad scene, I have given up attempting to do any more.
It appears that all blood tests in this area are controlled by one online system which thinks that every single one is booked up until 14 August and there is nothing anyone seems able to do about that.
Update 8 July:
Strangely, I received a text message from Aspiro, who must be the private organisation doing the communications for the local surgery. It asked me to book am appointment for a blood test!
The link to a new place for appointment booking offered two places: Woollaston, a local village, and the very local medical centre here in Bozeat but I didn't think they could possibly take blood there so I opted for the Woollaston Surgery where I had had it done before. I could have had an appointment tomorrow! I chose a day when I am free next week and have that confirmed. Now, will I actually be able to get a blood sample taken or will they say sorry I'll have to go to another place?
I am also intrigued as to whether I could even have had this - which is an annual review - done at the very local place just a short walk away. I will ask but I'm happy with Woollaston for now and will await next week with interest. I do remember that the nurse had a bit of trouble extracting my blood last time and nearly gave up and said I'd have to go to Kettering but she did eventually succeed and I'll make sure to drink plenty or whatever one is suppose to do to help matters beforehand.
It could all be entirely coincidental, of course. Nice to see something sensible, though. Why couldn't that system work for my initial attempt?
