Wal-Mart`s Asda offers instore blood tests

Wal-Mart-owned Asda is offering customers blood tests in one of its UK stores in a bid to cut hospital waiting times. The instore clinic, funded by the Health Service will carry out checks for a wide range of illnesses. Around 30 patients attend each session at the retailer’s West Bromwich store. Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust launched the scheme to help process its 38,000 blood tests a month. Sukvinder Atkar, NHS trust spokesperson said: "The Americans have been offering this kind of service for about five years and it has proved very popular. It was a natural step forward for us to expand our service and provide a greater choice of location for patients who don't wish to come into hospital, find a parking space and then have to queue for what is such a quick procedure. We have a blood collection service which operates three times a day, taking the blood back to the lab for immediate testing and results are returned to patients' GPs very quickly. If it proves popular, the supermarket clinic could be extended from its Thursday slot to five days a week.” The trust is also planning to offer blood tests in the evenings and at weekends.

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