Shipston blood sessions axed
Shipston’s blood donation sessions have been axed by as part of efforts to keep NHS costs low.
The sessions, which were held at the Sheldon Bosley Club have now been cancelled with donors told to give blood at alternative sessions such as in Stratford or Banbury.
Dean Neill, Head of Region for the North for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Hospital blood use is declining by 3-4% a year and this means that sometimes we need to make changes to sessions.
“We have made the difficult decision to close the session held at The Sheldon Bosley Hub in Shipston-on-Stour and we thank our donors for their life saving generosity. This was a six bed session that could only accommodate a limited number of donors.
“We’re moving from six bed sessions like that held in Shipston-on-Stour to nine bed sessions because we are able to see a higher number of donors in each session.
“We can collect the right amount of blood more efficiently at nine bed donor sessions and we hope people understand it’s important we keep costs for the wider NHS as low as possible. We were unable to find a suitable alternative venue in Shipston-on-Stour that could accommodate a nine bed session.
“We wrote to our donors advising them about the change in January. We are inviting donors to instead donate at the nearest session to their home address.
“We greatly value the generosity and commitment of our Shipston-on-Stour donors and we hope to see them again at other sessions in the area. We appreciate some people may not be able to travel, and if they are unable to continue donating, we thank them for the lives they have already saved.”
Shipston mayor Ronnie Murphy said: “The blood donation sessions have been run since before I moved to Shipston in 1969, they used to be at the Townsend Hall. They moved them to the Sheldon Bosley Hub and that seemed to be quite good, with easy access and car parking, and operated an appointment service.
“Now we’ve heard it will no longer be run in Shipston and people will have to go to Stratford or Banbury if they want to give blood. Quite honestly, if you’ve been at work all day the last thing you want to be doing going out again to Stratford or Banbury, I think a lot of people will just think forget it.
“The Shipston session was so convenient and with the push for blood donors nationally, it’s disappointing that this regular session has stopped. It’s not good news for blood donors.”
Shipston Town Council said it would continue to make enquiries to see whether an alternative venue for the sessions can be found.
