Test results

Getting the results of a test organised by the practice
If you have had a test carried out by the practice you can find out the result soon after it returns. All results, whether blood tests, urine samples, scans or x-rays are seen by the doctors and a comment is written for you to pick up on the computer. If you phone our receptionists they will read out this message to you. Please ring for the result of a test in the afternoon as the doctors view them at the end of morning surgery.

If a test result comes back showing something of concern we will always try our best to contact you.  Please make sure we have up to date contact details for you.

We do not routinely contact you if all your results are normal.

Often the doctors are able to discuss test results with you over the phone and give you an idea of further care. You do not always have to make an appointment to talk about test results, though we would be happy to see you face to face if you would prefer this. If you would like to come in to talk over a test result, always ring first to check it has arrived back at the practice.

To summarise

We write a short note on the computer for every test that you have, that you can pick up from our receptionists

If a test is abnormal we contact you

If all tests are normal we would not routinely contact you

If you want to discuss a test result we would be happy to do this with you over the phone

We do not automatically get the results of tests organised by a hospital consultant

Length of time before test results come back
Some test take longer to return to the practice than other. This is a rough guide on how long tests take to come back.

• Blood tests                                         3-5 days
• X-rays                                               10-14 days
• Ultrasound scans                                2 weeks
• Heart scans                                        3 weeks
• ECGs (heart traces)                            1 week
• Urine samples for infection                3-5 days
• Swabs for infections                           3-5 days
• Nail clippings for infection                  2-3 weeks
• Urine samples for pregnancy              2-3 days
• Smear results                                     4-8 weeks (the NHS always writes to you about these results)

Getting the results of tests organised by the hospital
Sometimes patients have investigations that have been arranged by hospital consultants. The results from these tests do not automatically get forwarded onto GPs.

If you want to know the result of a test you have had under the care of a consultant you can phone the hospital and ask to speak to your consultant's secretary. They are often able to get permission to forward the results onto the practice so that we can let you know the results. If you give them a couple of days to do this, then ring the practice we can discuss the results with you over the phone.