The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP

Secretary of State for Health

Department of Health

Richmond House

79 Whitehall

London SW1A 2NS

Date: July 4^th 2013 

Dear Jeremy,

I am writing to you to express concern about changes being made to blood collection services as part of an NHS Blood and Transplant review of collection plans and which may affect my constituency.

I was recently notified that the Horsham Bloodmobile, which enables people to donate blood at work in Brighton, will be closed as part of the changes. This will affect people in my constituency of Brighton Pavilion who were formerly able to donate using the Bloodmobile.

The changes, which are to be introduced in the autumn, will see blood being collected from donors near their homes rather than at their workplaces. However, it is unclear how these alternative collections are to be organised. As I understand it, the nearest permanent ‘Blood Centres’ to Brighton and Hove are located in Tooting and Southampton, far from the homes of those of my constituents who donate using the Bloodmobile.

There is concern that some who have previously donated blood at their workplace may now stop donating altogether due to difficulty in accessing donation services. A fall in blood donation may leave Brighton and Hove ill equipped to deal with the increased demand for blood foreseen by NHSBT in the coming years. [1]

Last month NHSBT appealed for more donors to come forward at an award ceremony for regular donors,[2] and it is estimated that 225,000 new donors need to be recruited every year to keep pace with demand.[3] I do not see how this can be compatible with placing barriers in the way of donation, and removing the services on which regular donors rely. The Bloodmobile not only enabled individuals to donate blood at their workplace, it also helped raise awareness of blood donation, increasing the likelihood of recruiting new donors.

These reforms are apparently justified on the grounds of delivering services as efficiently and effectively as possible, and freeing up more money is available to spend on frontline patient care.  However, I am concerned that these changes are a potentially damaging effect of government cuts, rather than an attempt to improve services for local people. To potentially reduce the capacity of the NHS to ensure adequate supplies of blood, in an attempt to save a relatively small amount of money, seems extremely short-sighted.

Please will you advise and assure me that the Government is committed to providing NHSBT with the resources it needs to guarantee the supply of blood to UK hospitals – and to allow my constituent to make blood donations? I would also be interested in details of how you intend to recruit new donors, while cutting the services existing donors rely on to give blood?

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Lucas, MP, Brighton Pavilion