Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to phlebotomy services in the London Borough of Redbridge.

The local National Health Service in Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals is moving community blood testing services that (pre-COVID-19) took place in Queen's or King George Hospitals, into some general practitioner surgeries and health centres.

The teams are working hard to ensure the new services are up and running as soon as possible. Establishing these community settings and getting them up and running means that patients who require non-urgent blood tests are currently facing waits but the new services means patients can expect a reduction in waiting times. Additional clinics in Redbridge have also been established.