Serious incident declared over backlog caused by service suspension during Covid pandemic
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Patients in north-east London are having to wait up to 21 weeks for a routine blood test on the NHS because a huge backlog built up when the service was suspended during the unfolding of the Covid pandemic.
Margaret Hodge, one of the local MPs, has warned that the hold-ups could lead to patients receiving a late diagnosis of their illness and being forced to wait many months to have surgery.
