Blood tests for children will be among the outpatient services relocated as Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust expands community-based care at Merry Hill.
The trust is transferring a variety of outpatient appointments from Russells Hall Hospital to community venues whenever feasible, aiming to bring healthcare closer to patients’ homes.
These proposals will be reviewed by Dudley Council’s Social Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on November 10.
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Since 2022, adult blood testing services have operated at Merry Hill, which recently moved to a larger facility with four dedicated rooms for outpatient clinics. Starting November 24, paediatric blood tests (phlebotomy) will also transfer from Russells Hall’s Children’s Outpatients Department to Merry Hill.
According to the committee report, approximately 900 paediatric appointments per month will be affected by this change. Children attending outpatient clinics at Russells Hall who require blood tests during their consultation will continue to receive those services at the hospital. The move only applies to children referred exclusively for blood tests, such as those requested by their GPs.
The paediatric phlebotomy unit at Merry Hill will operate Monday through Saturday, from 8am to 6pm.
Additionally, the trust plans to introduce four Rainbow Maternity Clinics at Merry Hill for families experiencing pregnancy and neonatal bereavement.
Other planned services at Merry Hill include glucose tolerance testing, paediatric epilepsy and diabetes clinics, a transition hub, paediatric gastroenterology, and general paediatrics and neonatology clinics.
All new clinics are expected to be fully operational at Merry Hill by February 2026. Clinics for the same services will continue at Russells Hall Hospital, allowing patients to choose the location most convenient for them.
In 2023/24, the trust delivered 466,000 outpatient appointments, with 65 percent (approximately 300,000) taking place at Russells Hall.
The report noted that the limited scale of services relocating to Merry Hill, and the fact that most maternity and paediatric outpatients remain unaffected, means this does not constitute a substantial service change.