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Your clinician might recommend you to have a medical test to:
The process will be different depending on the type of test, but you’ll usually need to visit one of our clinics.
Your test results will be sent back to us and reviewed by one of our clinicians, usually within 1-2 weeks, but it can take longer.
The clinician or hospital who arranges your test will tell you whether there are any specific instructions you need to follow before your test.
It's important to follow the instructions you're given, as it may affect the result of the test and mean it needs to be delayed or carried out again.
Types of tests available at our clinics:
If needed, your clinician will send you an invitation to book a blood test at one of our clinics.
Most blood tests only take a few minutes to complete and will be carried out by one of our phlebotomy trained colleagues.
Find out more about blood tests.
Your clinician may refer you to collect a test kit from one of our clinics to investigate your symptoms further. In most cases, you won't need an appointment and can collect your test kit from reception.
All our clinics have private facilities on site for you to collect a sample.
If you’d prefer, you can also take your test kit home and drop it back to the clinic before 4:00pm, Monday to Friday* (excluding Bank Holidays).
*Please, note that we do not accept the drop off of samples at our Raynes Park (Wimbledon) clinic.
We don’t have the facility to store stool samples in the clinics after 4:00pm. If you collect the sample after this time, please drop it off as soon as possible the next morning (samples dropped off after 4:00pm will be discarded).
You can also drop it off at one of the hospital drop off locations shown below.
You can drop your sample to any of our clinics or to one of these hospitals:
At the hospital, you should ask for directions to the pathology sample reception.
Most tests can be done at one of our clinics. However, a clinician might refer you to a hospital or specialist for some types of tests. For example, scans and X-rays.
You’ll usually need an appointment for these types of tests. Depending on where you have been referred for the test will depend on how you will be contacted to arrange the appointment.
Find out more about how referrals work.
In order to obtain copies of your X-rays or other images, you will need to contact the relevant hospital directly. GP at Hand cannot do this on your behalf.
We can, however, provide you with test results such as blood tests and ECGs. You can also view your test results in the NHS App. Our online guide about using the NHS app covers how to get access to your records. For more information on how to view or get a copy of your test results please refer to our Test Results FAQs.