End of Blood Giving in North Devon?

Blood donors in north Devon may soon have to travel as far as Exeter to give a pint

 It's because the NHS Blood and Transplant is planning to disband its blood sessions team in north Devon as part of its efficiency savings.

But the plans have been condemned by Unison, Devon's largest health service union.

They say it's too far  for donors to travel after they've given blood. Around 11 jobs could be lost and the union says there should have been talks before the  changes were announced.

Our reporter Wendy Buckingham as been talking to Unison's Michael Auguste  CLICK HERE 

Peter Taylor,  regional operations manager for NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Like any organisation that receives money from the public purse, we have a responsibility to deliver our services as efficiently and effectively as possible so that more money is available to spend on frontline patient care.  We work closely with hospitals so that we plan to collect only what patients need.  By making some changes to our session timetables and where we hold our sessions we will be able to run a more efficient service, while still meeting the needs of patients. 

“We hope that donors will continue to give blood as their donations save lives.  However, we understand that some donors may decide to stop donating, as it may become less convenient for them to give blood. If they choose to do so, we would like to thank them for all the lives they have helped save already and all the time they have given up to donate blood.”

Find out where you can give blood now http://www.blood.co.uk/giving-blood/