Test Results

If the doctor has commented that they would like you to book another appointment, please submit an Engage Consult form specifying that you have been asked by the doctor to contact the medical centre to discuss the result and your availability to take the call and we will try to book a telephone call back with the same clinician, if possible, usually within 48 hours.

If you have not already done so, please download the NHS App now. Please click on the ‘Download the NHS App button on the homepage to get started.

When you attend for a test of any kind you will be told how long you should expect to wait for the results. We will seek permission from you to send you a text message to communicate your result. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we will aim to message you regarding test results and if needed discuss these with you on the phone. If possible, we will try and manage this without the need for patients to come to the Practice.

Our reception staff are not qualified (nor the best people) to comment on results therefore they will not be able to give you results over the phone. it is your responsibility to check with the person who is requesting your investigations to make a plan with them and be clear as to how you will receive the result. You may need a follow up appointment to be booked after an appropriate interval if your management plan depends on tests and results. If the tests were done for your or the clinician’s reassurance you may be happy to have a text message to inform you results were within the normal range. Please make sure that you inform us when your mobile number changes because the number will be crucial to enable us to get in touch with you if necessary.

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Interpreting Blood tests and Other results

Laboratory tests are tools helpful in evaluating the health status of an individual. It is important to realise that laboratory results may be outside of the so-called “normal range” for many reasons.

These variations may be due to such things as race, dietary preference, age, sex, menstrual cycle, degree of physical activity, problems with collection and/or handling of the specimen, non-prescription (over the counter) drugs (aspirin, cold medications, vitamins, etc.), prescription drugs, alcohol intake and a number of non-illness-related factors.

Any unusual or abnormal results should be discussed with the GP who ordered the test. It is not possible to diagnose or treat any disease or problem with a blood test alone. It can, however, help you to learn more about your body and detect potential problems in early stages when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective.

Almost all laboratories set the normal result range for a particular test so that 95% of healthy patients fall within the “normal range”.

That means that 5% of healthy patients fall outside of the normal range, even when there is nothing wrong with them.

Thus an abnormal test does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong with you. Statistically if you have 20 or 30 individual tests checking various things, the chances are 1 or 2 will be slightly outside the normal range.

The comments a clinician then attaches to your results are their interpretation of whether or not any changes they saw when filing results are meaningful and something you should worry about.

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 an 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.

You can find out more about x-ray tests, how they are performed, their function and the risks by visiting the NHS Choices website.

We normally will receive the result of an X-ray in about a week’s time. We will contact you if there are any changes on the x-ray that need discussion. You should be able to view the result in your NHS App. If you would like to have your results and discuss your problem again please submit an Engage Consult form to request this- we will try to book you a telephone consultation with the clinician within 48 hours if you let us know your availability to take the call.

Ultrasound Scans

If requested by the hospital or another care provider (eg midwives) the results will return to them so please ask them for your results.

If requested by a Thistlemoor clinician we should get the result in about 2 weeks from your scan. Please submit an Engage Consult form to request this- we will try to book you a telephone consultation with the clinician within 48 hours if you let us know your availability for the call.

You may ask the people doing the scan for a copy to be sent to your home, this will allow you to know when the scan has been sent out by the provider.

MRI and CT scans

These scans are normally requested by specialists as we are limited as General Practitioners in our ability to request these scans. The results of scans will be returned to the organisation that requested them (i.e. normally the hospital or community provider). If a clinician from Thistlemoor has requested this then please look for the filed result in your App 3 weeks after having the scan. Based on the comments from the clinician when filing, and if you have any queries, please submit an Engage Consult form to request this- we will try to book you a telephone consultation with the clinician within 48 hours when you let us know your availability for the call.