Please telephone the surgery after 10:30 for all test results or you can register for online services and be able to see your test results online and any appropriate comment made by the doctor relating to that result.

Please always allow one week before contacting the surgery about the results of routine tests and X-rays. This ensures that not only is your test result received, but it should have been reviewed by a clinician and so the receptionist may be able to immediately give you some useful information.  Though we recognise that having tests can make some patients anxious, be assured that if there are urgent results we are normally informed by the laboratory and will be in touch. Consultant's letters and results take at least two weeks or more. Cervical smear results can take much longer and are posted to you.

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.