Green Porch Medical Centre - About medical tests and how to get your results

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Spring 2025 Covid vaccine eligibility

People aged 75 years and older, residents in care homes for older people, and those aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system will be offered a dose of COVID-19 vaccine this spring.

COVID-19 is more serious in older people and in people with certain underlying health conditions. For these reasons, people aged 75 years and over, those in care homes, and those aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system are being offered a spring dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Timing of the spring vaccine

You should be offered an appointment between April and June, with those at highest risk being called in first. You will be invited to have your booster around 6 months after your last dose, but you can have it as soon as 3 months.

If you are turning 75 years of age between April and June, you do not have to wait until your birthday, you can attend when you are called for vaccination.

You will be invited for your booster and you can book using the NHS app for Apple or Android. You can also find your nearest walk-in vaccination site from the NHS website.

For housebound patients aged 75 and over the surgery will arrange for your vaccination at home.

NHS vaccinations and when to have them

Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent many infectious diseases and it is important that vaccines are given on time for the best protection but if you or your child has missed a vaccination then please contact the surgery to make a catch up appointment.

A full list of current NHS vaccinations for all ages is in the NHS vaccination section of the website.

Further information is available on the nhs.uk website by clicking on the link below:

Why vaccination is important and the safest way to protect yourself - NHS

Test Results

Blood Tests

X-Ray

Test Results

When you attend for a test of any kind you will be told how long you should expect to wait for the results. Please bear this in mind and call the surgery after 2.30pm once sufficient time has elapsed.

Our reception staff are not qualified to comment on results therefore it is your responsibility to check them and make any necessary follow-up appointment with the doctor.

Please note that we do have a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. In this respect we will only give out results to the person they relate to unless that person has given prior permission for their release or if they are not capable of understanding them.

Blood Tests

We have an appointment led phlebotomy (blood taking service) at the surgery.

blood_tests_4 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

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.

X-Ray

You can have an x-ray at the Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital the telephone number is 01795-418300.

doctor examining an 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.

Noticeboard

Spring 2025 Covid vaccine eligibility

Timing of the spring vaccine

NHS vaccinations and when to have them

Blood Tests

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