Your Test Results

We offer a dedicated telephone line for test results - the number is Tel Number: 01225 866611 & select option 3

Opening Hours: 13.30pm-17.30pm Monday to Friday

The nurse, doctor or other health care professional carrying out the test will advise you when the results will be available.

It is then the responsibility of the patient or their carer to telephone for the results of the tests.

The doctor will have given the receptionist specific instructions regarding any follow-up that may be required and what information they would like conveyed to you. 

The receptionist may tell you what the result is, they may ask you to make a telephone consultation with the doctor, they make ask you to make a face-to-face consultation with the doctor, or it may be that the doctor telephones you direct. 

Sometimes the doctor will mark the result 'normal - no further action', this usually means the result didn't show anything abnormal.  If this is the case and you are still having problems, we advise patients to speak to the doctor further to discuss what to do next.

If the receptionist is in any doubt whatsoever about the instructions that have been left, she will ask the doctor for clarification and telephone you back or if preferred, the patient is able to book a telephone consultation with their doctor to discuss the result further.

Please view our Results Leaflet for more information.

Time taken for results to reach your doctor

Please note that these times are only a guideline.

Providing a stool sample

1. Clearly label the blue sample bottle with name & date of birth
2. Record date and time of when sample taken
3. Wash hands and relevant area before you start
4. Sterilise (swill out with boiling water) a container which can be used to catch the stool
5. Using the spoon attached to the lid of bottle transfer some of the collected stool into the bottle
6. Secure the lid firmly shut
7. Before 12.00 noon take the sample to the surgery.

Providing a mid urine stream sample

1. Sample must be fresh the same day, the lab will not process samples that are taken the day before
2. Clearly label the sample bottle with name & date of birth
3. Record date and time of when sample was taken
4. Wash the genital area and hands
5. Sterilise (swill out with boiling water) a container that can be used to pass urine into & then transfer to the sample bottle
6. A mid-stream urine sample means that you don’t collect the first part or the last part of urine that comes out.
7. Before 12.00 noon take the sample to the surgery.

Blood Tests

A blood test is when a sample of blood is taken for testing in a laboratory. Blood tests have a wide range of uses and are one of the most common types of medical test. For example, a blood test can be used to:

• assess your general state of health
• confirm the presence of a bacterial or viral infection
• see how well certain organs, such as the liver and kidneys, are functioning

Please note that blood tests are only to be taken if authorised by a clinician.

A blood test usually involves the phlebotomist taking a blood sample from a blood vessel in your arm. and the usual place for a sample is the inside of the elbow or wrist, where the veins are relatively close to the surface. Blood samples from children are most commonly taken from the back of the hand. The child's hand will be anaesthetised (numbed) with a special cream before the sample is taken.

You can find out more about blood tests, their purpose and the way they are performed on the NHS Choices website.

Pre-op blood tests need to be booked in the morning? (and not the afternoon)

This is because the sample has to be ‘fresh’ and can’t be kept overnight and therefore by doing it in the morning the sample can be taken at lunchtime to the lab.

Patient's will be given a (red) blood form by the hospital to bring into the surgery to get the test.

30.12.15

------------------------------------------------------------------ 

X-Ray

An X-ray is a widely used diagnostic test to examine the inside of the body. X-rays are a very effective way of detecting problems with bones, such as fractures. They can also often identify problems with soft tissue, such as pneumonia or breast cancer.

If you have a X-ray, you will be asked to lie on a table or stand against a surface so that the part of your body being X-rayed is between the X-ray tube and the photographic plate.

An X-ray is usually carried out by a radiographer, a healthcare professional who specialises in using imaging technology, such as X-rays and ultrasound scanners.

You can find out more about x-ray tests, how they are performed, their function and the risks by visiting the NHS Choices website.