SALISBURY District Hospital is changing the way it provides GP-requested blood tests through its Pathology Department, which it says will improve patient experience and reduce waiting times.

Lee Phillips, Head of Pathology at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Many patients choose to have their blood tests at Salisbury Hospital each day. To improve how we manage this process, and to improve patient experience, we are launching a state-of-the-art appointments system in August.

“Patients who have a blood test requested by their GP or GP practice will be able to book a 10-minute appointment slot to have these tests. This will reduce waiting times for patients and allow us to manage the workload throughout the day to better balance attendances. This will improve the experience for all patients that use our Pathology service.”

The booking system is available for appointments from Monday (August 10), when the walk-in service will no longer be available for GP-requested blood tests. Alternatively, patients can arrange to have their blood test at their GP surgery or at the Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Salisbury City Centre.

READ MORE: Health & wellbeing news in your Salisbury & Avon Gazette