Test Results

For most routine blood tests, your samples are sent to the hospital laboratory for analysis. You can generally expect the results to be processed, sent back, and reviewed by a GP within 3 to 7 working days.

• Routine Bloods (2 to 3 working days): This includes standard health checks like a Full Blood Count (FBC), Kidney function (U&Es), Liver function (LFTs), and Cholesterol checks.
• Common Specialised Bloods (5 to 7 working days): This includes routine monitoring for Thyroid function, Iron levels, and Diabetes (HbA1c).
• Advanced or Rare Tests (2 to 3 weeks): Complex immunology tests, specific vitamin markers, or rare hormone panels take longer because they often have to be routed to specialised national reference hubs outside the Lothian region.

For X-rays, ultrasounds, or CT/MRI scans requested by your GP, the formal report typically takes 10 to 14 working days to reach the practice.

Your images are taken at an NHS Lothian facility (such as the Western General Hospital or St John’s Hospital), where a specialist Radiologist must individually evaluate the scans and write a clinical report before it is transmitted back to your doctor.

⚠️ Hospital Consultant Exception: If your scan or X-ray was ordered by a hospital specialist or during an emergency visit to an Accident & Emergency (A&E) department or Minor Injuries Unit, the results go straight back to that hospital team, not your GP. You will need to contact the hospital consultant’s secretary directly to receive those results.

No, GP practices do not test or hold record of your blood type. Blood grouping (A, B, AB, O, and Rh factor) is not a routine NHS test provided by general practice because it is not required for general healthcare management.

Blood group testing is strictly restricted to specialised clinical settings where it is necessary, such as prior to major surgery, during blood transfusions in hospital, or as part of routine antenatal care for pregnant women.

• How to find out your blood group: The easiest way to find out your blood type for free is to register as a donor with Give Blood Scotland (the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service). After your first donation, you will be informed of your official blood group.
• Private Options: Alternatively, you can purchase private at-home blood grouping kits or request a private laboratory test outside the NHS.

Our practice strictly adheres to the regional clinical referral guidelines set by the South East Scotland Clinical Genetics Service (based at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh) and the NHS National Services Division. Please note the following strict criteria regarding DNA and genetic testing:

• No Direct GP Ordering: Under NHS Scotland guidelines, General Practitioners cannot directly order or request diagnostic or predictive genetic testing. All testing must be initiated by a hospital consultant or a specialist genetics service.
• Strict Clinical Thresholds: Referrals to the regional genetics clinic are only accepted if a patient meets formal, high-risk criteria. For example, a referral for inherited cancer risk generally requires a proven genetic mutation already identified in a living, affected blood relative, or a highly specific density of early-onset cancers within the immediate family.
• Low-Risk Policy: Individuals assessed as being at low or routine population risk under NHS guidelines will not be offered a clinic appointment or genetic testing.
• Commercial Third-Party Data: Official guidelines state that NHS laboratories will not process, validate, or interpret raw genetic data generated from private, commercial, or at-home testing kits (such as 23andMe or AncestryDNA).