A pensioner from Iddesleigh has been left “bewildered” after finding out she can no longer receive regular blood tests from her local practice through a Facebook post.

Val Bennallick has  haemochromatosis, a genetic condition that causes too much iron to build up in the body, and requires her to have regular blood tests and treatments every six weeks.

She undergoes tests and treatments at Hatherleigh Medical Centre but found out on a Facebook post written by Ruby County Medical Group that those who need phlebotomy services will have to access them elsewhere due to lack of funds at the practice.

Val , 63, said: “At the end of the month I’ll have my last blood test in Hatherleigh then I’ll have to do the 78-mile round trip to Exeter to have a 30 second blood test.

“I thought it was absolutely incredible that I found out through Facebook that people who attend the medical centre are no longer getting hospital requested phlebotomy services. They’ve got my address, my email and my phone number but I received no formal indication of this change.”

As well as haemochromatosis, Val has multiple sclerosis which is a chronic disease that causes mobility issues.

She continued: “Because I have multiple sclerosis, I may be in a wheelchair at some point so I won’t be able to drive and to get to Exeter from Iddesleigh. That means it will involve a 24-minute walk, if I can still do that, three different buses and the same thing on the way back.”

Val is not the only patient upset about the changes, she has been speaking to other patients of Hatherleigh Medical Centre who are concerned that non-Facebook users won’t be aware of the changes.

In a post Val made about the medical centre, one user commented: “I have been a patient of Hatherleigh all my life I had an amputation of my leg 5 years ago in London and part of my ongoing care is a six monthly blood test so do I have to drive to London to get that blood test now? Ridiculous.”

In a statement posted on Facebook, Lesley Source, practice manager on behalf of Ruby Country Medical Group said: “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to sign up for the new Hospital Phlebotomy Locally Enhanced Service (LES). Unfortunately, the funding provided does not cover the actual costs required to run the service safely and effectively within our Devon practices.

“As a practice, we must ensure long-term sustainability to continue delivering high-quality care to our patients. This is always our highest priority. We have expressed our concerns to both the NHS Devon ICB and the Hospital Trust, that we are keen to explore alternative solutions to prevent patients from having to travel to hospitals for blood tests. However, despite our willingness to work collaboratively on this issue, we have not yet received a response from them.”

The post continued to explain that from April 1, the medical group will no longer be able to process hospital-requested blood tests at the Holsworthy and Hatherleigh practices.

Instead all hospital blood tests requests will need to be carried out by the hospital that requested them.