YDue to an ongoing IT outage affecting pathology services at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT), there are significant delays to processing blood samples.

As a result, Hastings & Rother Healthcare has had to cancel and rearrange some non-urgent blood test appointments to help ensure that only clinically essential samples are taken while services recover.

Unfortunately, due to the delays in processing some blood samples taken over the last 48 hours may no longer be suitable for testing before they can be analysed.

ESHT is identifying any affected samples and will notify us where a repeat blood test is required. If your sample has been affected, we will endeavour to contact you directly to arrange another appointment. There is no need to contact your GP practice or blood test service unless we have asked you to do so.

Please be assured that any urgent results will continue to be managed as a priority through the usual NHS clinical processes.

We understand this may be frustrating and apologise for any inconvenience. These temporary measures are helping to ensure that patients who need urgent blood tests receive them as quickly as possible while pathology services work to recover from the IT outage.