Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #622

Medical Clinic Pleads For
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
A Stop To ‘Unsolicited'
Urine Samples
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uBMcRtWk3nU
By Ben Hooper July 2 (UPI) -- A medical clinic in Scotland is asking local residents to stop bringing in "inappropriate or unsolicited" urine samples.
The Saltoun
Surgery in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, said on social media that doc- tors and medical staff at the clinic have been inun- dated with a "high volume" of unso- licited urine sam-
ples, often in non- medical house- hold containers instead of sterile sample contain- ers.
"Please be advised that we are no longer able to accept urine
samples unless they have been specifically requested by the practice," the post said. "This change is neces- sary due to the high volume of inappropriate or unsolicited sam-
ples being submit- ted, which affects our ability to pro- vide timely care to all patients."
A British Medical Association Scotland repre- sentative explained doctors need to perform an examination before they can interpret urine test results.
"Each unsolicited sample handed in requires time and medical supplies to test in practice, contact the patient for infor- mation and then interpret the results and/or send away for fur- ther testing," the representative tol d STV.
One doctor speaking anony- mously to The Times of
London said mul- tiple clinics have had to put up signs asking patients not to bring unsolicited urine samples.
"We really, really want patients to speak to a clini- cian for a proper medical assess- ment before we ask them to bring a sample in," the doctor said. "And when they do, we will issue them with sample bot- tles to return, rather than ran- dom domestic containers which can sometimes be inappropriate."
The doctor said the culprits are often older patients seeking to be tested for urinary tract infec- tions without first consulting with medical experts.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine