When you have a blood test ...

[NorthernDancer]

... how long does it take before the results come up on your NHS app?

We know our lab turns round most common tests in 24 hours, but we are currently waiting between a week and 10 days to see our results on the app and it feels like too long.

Next morning usually. So I have a blood test at 11am on day one, most results drip in across day two and three.

Brilliant service from our local hospital. (i always have the blood drawn at hospital, usually get a same day appt, they save surgery appts for elderly/non mobile patients).

Many hospitals are placing a week delay on blood results as people are seeing them sooner than clinicians and panicking. Once the clinician has seen them they may “release” them.

It can depend on who ordered the test. GP ordered tests usually show up in 48 hours or so.

Specialist or hospital tests, eg cardiologist or rheumatologist it often goes to them directly, and they contact you if they need to.

Normally 48-72 hours but dh has been waiting a week now.

This.

My GP surgery are useless , they don’t go on until reviewed by doc/ nurse so I can’t see them first, I had a test , a telephone consultation last re the results a week later , then a further week later I emailed and asked for them to be posted so I could look myself ,
that was done that afternoon but I think if I hadn’t prompted I’d still be waiting!

I have blood tests every 3 months and the first results come through later that day, then the rest appear on Patients Know Best over the next 3 or 4 days. It wasn't always as efficient and I used to expect them any time up to a week after the tests.

Never. I have them at the hospital and nothing from there goes on the app. It’s quite frustrating!

Have you complained? My hospital results always go onto the NHS app. In England.

We think the issue for us is the gap between the surgery receiving the results and reviewing them so they can go on the app.

DH also under the hospital and has regular blood tests for them.We do not get any of those results.

If its GP requested bloods then the GP has to file/comment on them before you can see them on the app. They will be back likely around 24hrs for most bloods but provisional until the GP has actioned them

I understand that. What I'm interested in is how long it takes the GP to review the results and release them to the app, because we are running at between a week and 10 days and I think that's too long.

@NorthernDancerthat depends on the surgery. We actioned all our results within 48 hours(usually 24) but if there's illness or holidays then it can be longer. Locums don't usually do admin. There's nothing more soul destroying than an inbox of 200 results to action and your the only doctor there. Depending what system is used to import the results some will show up abnormal results so they can be actioned first but even really tiny abnormalities that are just out of range can be flagged so that number can be high. I'm so pleased I'm retired...it gives me panic attacks just thinking about the volume of work.

The GP may have had annual leave or off sick? Or is speaking to another colleague for advice for if they are abnormal? They can also be hidden from the nhs app if they dont want you to see them. Why dont you phone the surgery and ask i am sure there is a simple explanation.

GP requested bloods it's usually 3 days. They don't show on the app until the GP has reviewed them.
Hospital ordered tests - never. This bugs me because I have regular bloods for RA. I'm pretty sure I am the one who's most interested, I understand them all and yet I'm not allowed to see them. Ironically when my hospital got PKB years ago they used to upload all the blood results, it gives you nice easy to follow graphs. Then they stopped putting them on.

Mine doesn’t put them on the app at all, they’re pretty hopeless with admin generally, which is somewhat worrying.

It depends on the results. I have a test every 6 weeks and this is what I've found.

Everything in range - it'll be on the next day

Out of range but not bad news - after a doctor has reviewed it, usually 2-3 days but it's been as long as 10.

Out of range and and indicator is something that needs treatment - doesn't go on the app, I just get told to make an appointment. It'll appear sometimes after the appointment.

If your results are late often it may be that something is making it get flagged for manual review.

I had a blood test on 21/7 (coagulation screen, FBC and HbA1c). By 9pm I had all the results showing in the NHS app except for HbA1c which came in at 7pm the next day.

Didn't hear from the surgery until 2 days later.

Not necessarily. I had a blood bnp level test due to a chest infection and they wanted to check my heart function.

It came back at 9077 (anything over 300 is heart failure territory) and I saw it the next day. Someone had written ‘poor outcomes for patient’ on it.

The GP then phoned and said not to worry and then removed it. I’d already screenshot all the results anyway.

My hospital blood tests often appear in PKB within an hour or two. I’ve usually read them in the waiting room whilst I wait for the consultant.

Mine are normally there by the next day

I am Wales and results don’t come on app at all for mine.

24/48 hours here.

Usually 1-2 weeks, once "reviewed" by the GP or nurse to be "released".

Hospital ones never appear on any app which is frustrating. The GP doesn't even get results which means we often have to get extra blood tests ordered by the GP for things that the GP needs to deal with, such as blood pressure, vitamins & supplements, etc., even when flagged up by the hospital consultant(s) via the hospital blood tests.

About time it was all standardised rather than all this inefficiency with different trusts/different systems not talking to each other. It's a nightmare for patients who are under different specialists even if relating to the same condition. Eg my DH has cancer, but complications include arrythmia and bone deterioration which require input by a cardiologist and osteopath - as well as the GP and haematologist, and none of them will communicate properly with each other!!

For my regular rheumy/shared care monitoring bloods, I usually have blood taken around 11am and the results show up on the NHS app by late afternoon. I had some more specialist bloods recently and these came back over the next 2 days.