Please be assured that if we receive a result that needs urgent attention we will contact you, usually by phone, otherwise a letter asking you to make an urgent appointment with the Duty team if necessary. When a letter from us asks you to make an appointment within the next few weeks this is not classed as urgent.

When we ask you to make a face to face appointment for a result this must be face to face. Requesting a telephone call instead is a waste of both your time and ours.

Please note that requests for non-urgent results will NOT be dealt with by our Duty Team

Blood tests cannot diagnose an illness by themselves. They are part of an overall assessment and can only be interpreted with the whole picture. If your blood tests come back normal but you still have symptoms then please make an appointment for a review as you may need further investigations.

If you need to speak to the Practice regarding your results, please call us on 01691 648 054.

Our Reception team will look at the action recorded by the requesting clinician and deal with your request accordingly. If your results require no further action but you would like to speak to someone about them, you can request a routine telephone call with a Practice Nurse to
discuss these.

Please allow 7 days before phoning for blood test results and swabs.

*Please make sure we have the correct contact details for you and that you are available to take the call at the specified time*

“NORMAL NO ACTION”
This means that the doctor has looked at the result and deemed it to be within the normal range for the test and so no further investigation or treatment is needed

“SATISFACTORY”
This means that the doctor has looked at the result and deemed it to be very close to the normal range for the test and the result is not concerning. Some patients have consistently abnormal results that are “normal” for them

“REPEAT TESTS”
This is when a test was either unable to be tested properly in the lab or has shown an unusual result and we need to be sure this has returned to normal or if you need further tests based on what the test has revealed. Preferably have the repeat tests before your follow up appointment

Please check with the clinician taking the blood or swab what you are supposed to do to obtain your result and make the necessary appointment

All results are reviewed by the doctors and nurses when we receive them. If we need to see or speak to you we will send you a letter asking you to make the necessary appointment

*DO NOT IGNORE THIS LETTER*

Please tell the receptionist that you have received a letter or were advised to make an appointment and by whom when you phone to book

If your tests were taken as part of a regular follow up to monitor a chronic condition e.g. diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, then the results will go to the nurses who manage the condition and be discussed with the relevant doctor who will make a note of your result and contact you if necessary.

If you were told to arrange a further appointment with the doctor or nurse face to face please do this as soon as possible after the blood tests were taken. Do not ring for the result prior to the appointment.

Please remember all diabetic patients must be seen at least once every year face to face with a nurse - a telephone call is not enough.

OTHER BLOOD TESTS AS PART OF INVESTIGATIONS

The Doctor or nurse should have told you whether they wanted to see you for your results or whether you need to make a telephone call with them.
If you are unsure, please ring the practice on 01691 648 054 and our Reception team will be able to help.

URGENT BLOOD TESTS

These are taken on the same day or following day after seeing a doctor and the doctor will tell you they are urgent. These results will be looked at that evening and a clinician will ring you to discuss your results.

What do you have to do?

Make sure we have the correct home phone number and/or mobile number for you
Make sure you are available between 6 and 7pm for urgent bloods that day.
Ring us first thing the following morning if we have not been in touch (very occasionally results come in very late after we have left).

We would expect to have a conversation or appointment with you to discuss this type of investigation.
If your clinician has not already planned to see you then please contact us soon after your investigation has been done. We will then arrange for a follow up with the clinician who requested your investigations around 3 weeks after so we have the results ready to discuss.

If your investigation is of concern the Practice may contact you before the arranged follow up appointment. Please contact us if you receive a letter from the Practice regarding your results.

** Please always arrange your follow up appointment/telephone call with the clinician who requested the test **

All investigation results requested by hospital doctors will go back to the requesting consultant, NOT to the GP.

Please contact your consultants’ secretary if you are unsure about the follow up plan to hospital investigations.

If you are told that the practice will receive your results then please arrange to speak to the GP who referred you to hospital allowing 7 days for the results to reach us.