We provide diagnostic tests at the surgery, including ECG, blood pressure monitoring, Doppler tests for circulation, and spirometry. We also use services provided by the pathology lab at Addenbrookes. 

When a doctor orders laboratory tests, you will be asked to provide samples, and/or to make an appointment with a healthcare assistant who can take blood samples. 

Most pathology lab tests require up to three working days before the doctor gets and reviews the results. If there is any concern the doctor will contact you. If there is no concern, the doctor will annotate the notes so that receptionists can see that the results are normal.

If you don’t hear from the doctor after 3 or 4 days, you can call after 14:00. The receptionists can tell you what the doctor has written on your notes, or, if the doctor has not written on your notes, will send a message to the doctor who will call back.

Our policy is that the doctor who ordered the tests is best placed to discuss the results with the patient because they understand the context. In urgent cases, however, the receptionist may message a different doctor. 

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.

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.