It is your responsibility to check your own test results. This includes blood tests, urine samples, stool samples, swabs, x-rays, scans, colonoscopies and endoscopies, ECGs, and echocardiograms.

You can see your test results on the NHS app or your online website portal. If you do not have access to the internet results are also given out over the phone between 14:00 – 18:00 Monday to Friday. To find out more on how to use the NHS app please use this link: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/nhs-app-help-and-support/getting-started-with-the-nhs-app/

Your doctor or nurse will tell you how long to wait before calling for your results. Please do not call earlier than this as we will not have the results available.

If the doctor has ordered more than one test for you the results may not all arrive at the same time. Please make sure you check this with our staff when you call.

After your results are received by the practice, a clinical will review them. They will write a comment for each result which can be viewed online or read out by the Reception team. The Reception team can tell you what to do next, but won't be able to comment on exactly what the results mean.

Possible comments might include:

• “Normal” or “Stable” – this means that no further action is needed. If you are still concerned about your symptoms then you should make an appointment for review.
• “Abnormal, not urgent – patient to book appt” – this means that there is an abnormality in your results that should be discussed with a doctor You should call or go online and book a follow up appointment. If it is marked as “not urgent”, it means that no immediate action needs to be taken by you or the doctor. The GP will be aware that it can take 4-6 weeks to book a routine appointment. The result will not need to be dealt with sooner than this if they have marked it as “not urgent”.

Sometimes the GP might contact you about the results. This could include receiving a phone call or a text message. For example, we might text you if your vitamin D level is low because this is very common and can be managed without having an appointment. We might also text you to let you know about a result, such as if you have high cholesterol or other abnormalities that we would like to discuss with you. If this happens, please book a routine appointment.

You might receive an automated text message saying that one or more of your results was normal. This does not mean that ALL of your results were normal, so you should still check these yourself. 

Occasionally, a blood test result might be very abnormal and need more urgent action. If this happens, the lab will phone the GP or out-of-hours service. A doctor may then try to contact you to arrange possible next steps. This can involve going to A+E for a repeat blood test. A doctor might contact you overnight or on weekends. You should keep your mobile phone turned on for the 48 hours after your test in case you need to be contacted urgently.

They may contact you overnight or on weekends in certain rare situations. Please therefore keep your mobile phone turned on for the 48 hours after your test in case you need to be contacted urgently.

Please note that we do have a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. 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.

Please use this guide if you want to see pictures explaining how to check your results: how to check your results picture guide.pdf