nhs blood test

[bomberman]

just to let you know i thought i saved some dollar by getting my blood test at my local nhs hospital but they've just sent me an invoice for £123 quoting it as a 'private blood test'
Very annoyiong! ah well at least i saved on train fare and travel time to london

[badger]

That's really weird! How can the NHS charge for bloods if they test using their own pathology labs?!

Did you get a referral from your GP for your tests or did you go straight to the hospital and ask?

I would tell them to stick their invoice up their arse if they're trying to charge you and didn't make it very clear that the tests would be classed as private at the time of taking the blood.

[bomberman]

i didnt get a referal from a gp though i think i could have, i did it to save them time and hassle!
i told them i didnt think i should pay the money and they have put in a dispute, waiting to hear back

[Mickydubs]

Bloody annoying mate! ( sorry for the pun ) if a healthcare assistant would have done your bloods at your local GP surgery it should have been free, all comes down to what was ticked on the blood form which was sent to the lab, NHS or Private.

[Bikkembergs]

I've tried this week to get my blood test completed. I'm cutting it fine as my op date is a week today!

I phoned my GP and explained I required a blood test and she said "We dont do that sort of thing here". I insisted that I didnt mind paying and she kept bluntly repeating that "Sorry, that's private medicine and we dont do that here". Eventually she referred me to a local private health centre who would do it (I'm coincidentally a member of it anyway, it's basically a glorified gym".

So I phoned the gym and she was hesitant and said I would need a referral from my GP explaining why I needed the blood test.

Sigh.

So I phoned my GP again and explained. And the same old bint said "Well we cant do that because we dont involve ourselves with private medicine."

So I reiterated that I didnt want them to do it, I just needed a referral but she wouldn't budge.

But luckily now I've got a referral from AK's office and I'm scheduled for the test on Monday.

darn me.