'Covid-19 has brought me closer to lovely Atherstone people and fulfilling hopes of living in the town'

SHIELDING AND SELF-ISOLATING RESIDENTS MAKING GREATER USE OF COST-EFFECTIVE BLOOD-TESTS-AT-HOME SERVICE

CORONAVIRUS has only put on hold phlebotomist Lorraine Bruce's plans for her dream move to Atherstone with its "ever-friendly, warm and welcoming" townsfolk.

The 63-year-old community blood test specialist and her husband were looking seriously at property options in the town when the pandemic started to sweep the globe.

She told Nub News: "I just love the people of Atherstone. When you meet them, they are always ready to chat and the centre of town has a real villagey atmosphere."

And, ironically, Covid-19 has brought Atherstone closer to NHS-trained Mrs Bruce in her professional capacity.

As a freelance phlebotomist her work schedule has risen by around 30 per cent since the outbreak took hold in mid-March, and brought with it stringent lockdown measures.

The Hartshill-based NVQ3 qualified health practitioner is proving invaluable to those in the area needing a blood test who are Covid-19 shielding, self-isolating or don't want to visit a clinic in these difficult times.

She added: "Most of us will need a blood test at some time in our lives.

"Normally patients can just go to the surgery or the hospital, but it is not always possible now.

"And since we went into lockdown I have been much busier. People shielding who require blood tests do not want to go out of the house."

Protected by government-recommended masks, aprons and gloves – which are disposed of immediately after each test – she says people welcome her into the home, adding: "That fear of infection is not an issue."

With 27 years' experience – and 18 months on the road since leaving the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton – even local surgeries give patients who need a blood test the option of using freelance phlebotomists like Mrs Bruce, explaining there is a charge.

A quarter of her work is in Atherstone, another quarter in the rest of North Warwickshire with half of her patients coming from neighbouring Nuneaton and Bedworth.

She charges £10 for a test in Atherstone, £13 for Baddesley, Dordon and Polesworth and £15 for Hurley and Kinsgbury. To come into the hospital from far-flung parts of the borough would cost £25 by taxi, she points out.

Her blood-tests-at-home or workplace service means there's no queuing, waiting around, car park charges or lost time from employment.

Mrs Bruce can be contacted on 07850 486421.