A PENSIONER has hit out at a health centre after they refused him a blood test three times due to a “high volume of work”.

Dr Cathirithamby Thiagarajah of Buckland Road, Leyton, attended Langthorne Health Centre in Langthorne Road, Leytonstone, for three consecutive days.

The 80-year-old was told by his GP to get a blood test after experiencing leg pain while on holiday.

But he was left disappointed each day when he turned up to find a sign saying the service was closed early due to an increased workload.

Dr Thiagarajah said: “I was not only disappointed by it being closed but also I had to walk two miles to my home when I am sick. Unfortunately there is no bus service to this health centre which is another blunder by the planners.

“The next day I went and the same blessed notice announcing early closure was hanging at the ticket machine. Cursing the providers of this service I returned home empty handed with my illness aggravated by the inclement winter weather.

“I paid a third visit to this hell of a place the next day hoping to hit the jackpot but I met the same fate. I am very disappointed because I cannot sleep with the pain and I have trouble walking.

“To shut the door against the patients, shun them and drive them from pillar to post is not the way to deal with a health problem. Logically if the volume of work is high the working hours of staff should be extended to cope with the task.”

After three failed attempts at Langthorne Health Centre Dr Thiagarajah’s daughter took him to Comley Bank Health Centre in Walthamstow where he received a blood test.

The father-of-four worked as a doctor in Sri Lanka before moving to the UK in 1985 to work in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

He is calling on Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group to increase the number of workers in the phlebotomy service during winter months.

He said: “I just want to see this borough’s health service improved. There are serious issues involved.

“It is well known that morbidity surges during winter therefore the phlebotomy service must be prepared and well-staffed to deal with the increase in the volume of work.

“The directors in the Primary Care Trust must take interest. They should get monitoring reports from phlebotomy services. I hope something will be done to correct this discrepancy.”

A spokesperson for Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group said: “We are aware of the challenges currently facing our phlebotomy service, particularly at Langthorne which is a well-used site. Because it is a walk-in service, on some days due to high demand it is unfortunately not possible for the phlebotomists to see everyone trying to access the service.

“Efforts are made to extend the phlebotomists’ shifts where possible so more people can be seen, but this is subject to the availability of the phlebotomy staff and the room the service uses at the centre.

“Waltham Forest CCG has recently redesigned the specification for the phlebotomy service with the aim of reducing waiting times, and this will take effect from summer 2017.”