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. As a general rule:
- Blood tests - within 48 hours.
- Swabs, faeces and urine results - within 48 hours.
- Nail clippings - up to 4 weeks.
- X-Rays and scans organised by the surgery - usually around 2 weeks.
- Cervical smear results will be sent to you direct from the lab.
- Tests arranged by your hospital consultant will usually be sent to them rather than to us and be given to you at your follow up appointment.
When we receive test results we will try to contact you if necessary. This could be via text message (if you have given us your mobile number and agreed for it to be used for this purpose), telephone or even letter. The message may be simple e.g. if a blood test needs repeating or may request you to book an appointment to discuss things with the GP or Practice Nurse. We may not contact you if we see that you already have an appointment booked and most normal results will be filed directly into your notes.
Whilst "no news is good news" is true to some extent occasionally systems can go wrong e.g. a result may be "lost" - if you are concerned that you have not heard about an important result please do phone and ask the receptionists to check for you. If you phone after 2pm the phones are less busy.
Please note that the receptionist can only give results to patients once the doctor or nurse has checked the results and given authorisation. In order to maintain patient confidentiality, results can only be given to the patient themselves, unless they are under the age of 16 years or have given us written permission to discuss their medical care with a specific family member or friend.