Patients are facing delays for non-urgent blood tests because of a shortage of reagents caused by problems in a new warehouse.

The problems stem from NHS reliance on pharmaceutical company Roche, which has had problems operating a new automated warehouse in Sussex. According to reports last night, the problems could take several weeks to solve. Roche said it was giving priority to COVID-19 testing materials – but one senior GP said this was the wrong approach and other urgent tests should have priority.

One trust, West Suffolk was unable to undertake blood tests for most patients, it was reported. Its medical director Dr Nick Jenkins said: “We have an urgent situation which is making it difficult to complete some blood tests. This is caused by our supplier, Roche, being unable to deliver some chemicals needed for this process. This is a national problem. We are prioritising clinically urgent tests. This means that if you are having a regular blood test, it may be delayed. We are very sorry about this.”

Dr Mark Sanford-Wood, deputy chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said: “We must have, without delay, details about how widespread the issue is and what clinicians should be telling their patients. While we understand the need during the pandemic to maintain the COVID testing system to identify new cases, there are still patients who will need tests for a range of conditions that could be equally as life-threatening if left undetected. We call for assurances that patient care – both COVID and non-COVID – will be prioritised over COVID antibody tests, which are of limited immediate clinical value.”

Royal College of GPs chair Professor Martin Marshall said: “This issue must be rectified urgently, both to alleviate anxiety that delays will inevitably cause for patients, but also the increased workload that this will cause in general practice further down the line when appointments potentially need to be rearranged for investigations to be redone. In the meantime, GPs need clarity as to how long this issue is predicted to go on for, as well as what steps we should take when presented with a patient who we think would benefit from a laboratory test.”