On average please allow 10 working days for your test results to come back from the lab at the hospital unless your doctor has advised otherwise. Please note that  X-ray results, scans or other more specialised tests can take longer. 

We are only able to give out results of tests that have been requested by the GP's or other clinicians within Birchwood Medical Centre.

If your hospital consultant has requested a test for you after you have been referred to them, they are required to inform you of the results and the next steps in your care.  Please telephone your consultants secretary directly or wait until your followup appointment where these results will be discussed with you. If the results are urgent then the hospital team will be in touch with you directly sooner.   Your consultant may want to arrange additional tests or treatment for you which our doctors will not be aware of, which is why these results are best coming from the doctor who arranged them.

You may receive your test results by text message if they are normal, or if the treatment plan has already been discussed with you.

You can also view your test results requested by our doctors online if you have access to view your medical records online using SystemOne Online where you will also see the comments made by the doctor when they have been filed. 

If the result is complicated, or if the doctor wants to see you about the result, we will offer you an appointment.

We will only give results to the person who has had the test.

A blood test is when a sample of blood is taken for testing in a laboratory. Blood tests have a wide range of uses and are one of the most common types of medical test. For example, a blood test can be used to:

• assess your general state of health
• confirm the presence of a bacterial or viral infection
• see how well certain organs, such as the liver and kidneys, are functioning

A blood test usually involves the phlebotomist taking a blood sample from a blood vessel in your arm and the usual place for a sample is the inside of the elbow or wrist, where the veins are relatively close to the surface. Blood samples from children are most commonly taken from the back of the hand. The childs hand will be anaesthetised (numbed) with a special cream before the sample is taken.

You can find out more about blood tests, their purpose and the way they are performed on the NHS Choices website.

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.