As from January 2020 the practice policy where possible will be for patients to view their results online via their usual online access to their medical records. If however you wish to telephone for test results please ring 01254 964640 after 11am.

When your test is taken you will be told how long it will be before the results are return to the practice. It is your responsibility to check your results and to make an appointment to discuss them with your doctor if you are advised to do so. We will only get results for tests where the tests have been requested by Darwen Healthcare. If your tests were requested by another organisation then please contact them directly for the results. Test done at the hospital will usually go back to the hospital rather than to us. Please allow between three to five days for most urine and blood tests, 14 to 21 days for x-rays and two weeks for smears.

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.