Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson Lynne Featherstone has met the senior manager in charge of the North Middlesex anti-coagulant clinic, Ms Angela Gallagher, to discuss the hospital’s plans to reduce the appalling conditions for patients waiting at the clinic.

The meeting followed an earlier visit by Ms Featherstone following patient complaints about crowds of the ill and elderly waiting to be seen. On her previous visit, Ms Featherstone found that the clinic waiting room has roughly 40 seats, and has been told that as many as 160 patients can be waiting for treatment and are forced to stand. At the Wednesday morning anti-coagulant clinic, most patients are waiting for blood tests, and many are elderly or have heart problems.

Ms Featherstone’s earlier, and unannounced, visit had turned the spotlight on a previously unhurried approach to finding ways to alleviate the situation. At the meeting Ms Gallagher laid out plans to reduce the levels of people attending by a slow and carefully monitored change to Primary Care with some patients being able to attend a GP surgery or a pharmacist rather than the clinic.

Patients would also be able to attend clinics to have blood tests on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons too rather than all on a Wednesday morning. In this way, the hospital hopes to bring order to what has until now been a chaotic situation.

Commenting Lynne Featherstone says:

“I am pleased that moves are at last being made to alleviate the patients’ situation at this very important clinic. It is hard to believe that such a stressful experience for patients was allowed to go on for such a long time. I hope by focusing attention on this issue and continuing to be involved, that the improvements promised to me last week will be on a fast track. The sooner the better.”