A BOWEL cancer survivor from Bromsgrove says he is ‘furious’ with Churchfields Surgery after initially being told to ‘go elsewhere’ for a blood test.
Malcolm Conroy, 77, claims the practice’s receptionist told him to have it done at the Princess of Wales Hospital instead.
Malcolm, who is now in remission, said: “I’m very lucky because in June 2018, just four weeks after I was diagnosed, I had an operation to remove the cancer.
“The doctors told me I needed to have checkups every six months at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, but to have blood tests done before each appointment.
“So when I asked the receptionist at Churchfields if I could book one in, and she said no, I found it extremely unhelpful.
“She told me to email the practice manager if I had a complaint – but for all she knew, I could be computer illiterate.
“What shocked me the most was she didn’t even take down my name or details because if she did she would have seen that I require blood tests.”
Malcolm claims he rang Catshill Village Surgery to see if it did blood tests to which the receptionist told him ‘all the time’.
He was put in touch with the practice manager, Martin Rutter, who also oversees Churchfields Surgery.
Martin Rutter told the Standard: “We do offer blood tests at both surgeries but I cannot go into each complaint due to patient confidentiality.
“Every complaint is dealt with by NHS England.
“What I can confirm is that we do not usually provide blood tests for hospital requests.
“If you have a check up appointment at the hospital, the patient will usually get the blood test done there.”
Malcolm claims he was booked in for a blood test at Churchfields Surgery soon after speaking to Mr Rutter, who he said, ‘was very helpful’.
