Historically, GP practices in the area have provided this type of care locally so that patients do not have to travel to hospital for routine procedures.
But from this week, some GP surgeries have stopped providing this type of work due to huge pressures.
Speaking today, Tim said: “Be in no doubt, this decision is a direct result of our GP surgeries being cut to the bare bone.
“This is a completely unacceptable situation with vulnerable, sick and often elderly patients being forced to travel long distances just for a blood test.
“The Government make a huge song and dance about all the money they are putting into the NHS, and yet the reality for people here in Cumbria is staggeringly different.
“That’s why I’ve written to the Health Secretary, asking him to urgently look at this.”
The move follows the decision of some GP surgeries to serve notice on a local ‘secondary care workload agreement’, which had temporarily allowed general practice to support hospital services with specific tasks.
Tasks previously carried out under the agreement included ECG and physical health monitoring for people prescribed specialist mental health medication, pre-operative and post-operative blood tests, post-operative wound care, chemotherapy-related blood testing, and blood monitoring for specialist biological therapies.
The decision follows a ‘significant and ongoing rise’ in appointment requests and clinical tasks made on behalf of other healthcare providers—particularly hospital and specialist teams according to the health service.
Dr Robert Westgate, a Carlisle GP and chair of the North Cumbria Local Medical Committee, said: “We’ve seen a significant increase in work passed from other parts of the health system to GPs, including prescriptions, referrals and test follow-ups that fall outside the scope of our contracts.
“This is something we now need to address, not to pass on responsibility, but to ensure that general practice can remain safe, available and sustainable for the future.
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“These changes will ensure patients still receive the care they need—often more directly from the specialist service managing their condition.
“We will continue to work constructively with our colleagues across health and care settings to support patients appropriately.”
The department for health and social care was contacted for comment.