Practice Policy on Informing you of Test Results
The NHS has no universal system for communicating results. The service user is expected to check that results have been received and what action is needed.
As a patient, you may have hundreds of tests done in your life, and as a practice, we receive thousands of test results each week.
To simplify this, we have adopted the following policy and mark results as abnormal, borderline or normal when we check them.
Abnormal: you will receive a message or phone call from the clinician telling you what to do.
Borderline: The results have been checked and can be accessed online (through NHS and other GP access apps) or by phone using our results line. There will often be a message about something you need to be aware of, such as advice to change diet, to repeat at a specific time, or that this is a harmless variation of normal. There will rarely be any urgency with borderline results, and you can ask about these at your next GP appointment that year.
Normal. No problems. These will also be available for you to view online or through the results line.
- Earlsfield Practice Results Line 12:00 to 13:00 on 0208 946 5681 and select option 4
- Our preferred App for looking at your results and recent consultations is the NHS app, which can be downloaded to your smartphone. Not all features are enabled initially; you may need to speak to reception if you cannot see results.
- You can also send us a message directly from our Website https://www.earlsfieldpractice.co.uk/ to check on a specific test you had done.
Be aware that results may not always come back to us; they may be held by the hospital or sent to the clinician you consulted.
If you have doubts, check.
Once a doctor has reviewed your test results, you can view them:
- in your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- Using the GP online system: Patient Access
- please call the surgery and select option 4 as we have a dedicated result line between 12pm – 1pm
Questions about your results
If you want to talk to someone about your results, fill out our test results request form and someone will be in touch.