Action to tackle waiting times of up to an hour for blood tests at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital
Waiting times for patients having blood tests in Dudley will be reduced under plans to improve the service.
People have to wait an average of 30 minutes although at busy times it can take up to an hour for them to be seen by a phlebotomist.
Extra staff will be recruited to help meet the demand for the service and the waiting area for patients will be revamped at Russells Hall Hospital. The service is also being relocated within the hospital before March.
The number of blood test work stations and waiting rooms at the Corbett outpatient centre in Stourbridge will be increased.
It's not yet known how many extra phlebotomists will be recruited to take blood tests as the plans are still at an early stage.
Bosses at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust are also looking at offering patients the chance to book appointments and are also considering offering the service for the first time at the Guest outpatient centre in Dudley.
Paula Clark, chief executive of Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust said: "Due to increasing demand on our phlebotomy service, The Trust is looking into the feasibility of extending the service to help improve waiting times and provide a more comfortable area for patients to wait.
"Because the service is open access - patients do not need to book an appointment, the numbers of patients we see each hour can be unpredictable and the department can get very busy and overcrowded.
"This is generally for a short period in the morning.
"Our waiting time audits show that patients are often seen within 10 minutes of arrival and the average waiting time is no longer than 30 minutes.
"During peak times patients can wait up to 60 minutes to be seen by a phlebotomist.
"Our plan is to relocate the service within Russells Hall Hospital from its current location in main outpatients, increase the number of blood test work stations and waiting rooms at Corbett Outpatient Centre, and consider offering the service at Guest Outpatient Centre.
"To achieve this, we plan to increase the number of phlebotomists taking blood tests to better match demand and introduce planned booked appointments for some testing.
"We are working towards relocating the service prior to March 1. The phlebotomy service will continue to provide a service from various other locations across the borough."
