Blood tests, requested by us, for you, will be carried out here at the surgery on a Wednesday or Thursday morning by staff directly employed at the surgery.

By providing the service in-house, we hope this will help us to improve our services to you by:

• Improving your access to our services.
• Providing a more holistic service when you come to have your blood taken.

This will help the local NHS streamline its community phlebotomy services across the area, so that all GP Practices will all be offering this service in the same way.

Patients who already have their blood taken at home will not be affected, as these services will continue.

If you have any questions about the change in service our receptionists will be happy to help.

Portsmouth Hospital Trust (PHT) will continue to take your bloods at Queen Alexandra Hospital if the request is as a result of an appointment you have had at the hospital or part of the care you are under at the hospital. The hospital staff will be able to tell you the opening hours of the various sites.

Results of tests organised by the practice, e.g. blood tests, X-rays, smears etc. are available from the receptionist. Please telephone for results between 11:30 – 15:30 if possible. Allow a few days for all results, some take longer than others.

Tests and Investigations Organised by the Hospital

The results of blood tests, X-rays, scans etc. organised by the hospital doctors will go back to the person at the hospital who requested them. They will not necessarily come to us.

It is useful to ask at your hospital appointment how you will find out the results of your tests.

Confidentility

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

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.