NHS blood tests

Fennel, appointments etc go through your GP for referral to the appropriate surgeon/consultant.

If it is just a blood test, often the practice nurse will do it., though some surgeries send you to the hospital. Otherwise anything else is through your GP

My OH has his cholesterol checked anually by our GP since his Heart attacks 7 years ago.

I have a blood test--- kidney function test annually, when/if the GP remembers ( rolls eyes ) Why have things become so laxed ?

Usually when you sign on with a new GP praactice they call you in for a check-up and discussion of any medical problems. Did your new practice not do this? If not, I would request it, or at least an appointment with the nurse.

Yes I did have an appt. with the nurse first and took a urine sample. Now I come to think of it she took some blood too.
But only one phial - it used to be in 6 or so separate phials.
Later saw the doctor.
I'm going to the health centre this morning and will ask about the procedure.

EllanVannin I think its up to you to make the appointment ,well in our practice it is .

Our new GP hasn't called us in for any kind of check up so I'm not sure they all do.

DH and I have had annual blood tests for years but they seemed to be a bit haphazard so we started asking for our own. I suggested to the GP (at our old surgery) that they were calling me too often and that I called them around my birthday each year. That worked well for us. I think these days you need to manage your own health as , for whatever reason, surgeries don't seem to do it very well.

They would only need one phial for checking cholesterol level, I think Fennel, perhaps the others were to check kidney function, blood count etc.

You may not hear from the surgery if they did check your levels and everything was fine - they may only contact you if they are concerned at all.

It's difficult to get an appointment for blood checks with our surgery, but there is a phlebotomist based at the community hospital and you can just walk in on the day she is there.

All blood tests are done at the request of your GP. These will probably be done by a Practice Nurse at her request.

If you feel you want any particular blood test, e.g. cholesterol, glucose, kidney function, liver function, thyroid, then you should speak to your GP and ask if they think it is necessary. (If you want something your GP is not prepared to do on the NHS you can find a private consultant and pay for them yourself).

I asked the receptionist this morning and she was a bit vague.
No, she didn't think the nurse that I saw pre-registration would have taken a blood sample.
I should get a letter around my birthday (Feb) to go for a routine blood test.
I would have thought the Lab. would need a letter from a doctor to know what to test for.

ps eg last Oct. I had a few blood tests for iron, as I had been very anaemic.
And sodium, which had been too high.

pps so it looks as if I should try to make another appt. with the GP takes ages.

just returned from the GP - no-one could actually get blood from me! (Nightmare disappearing veins) - so another appt next week with the expert blood-letter, wish me luck!

Fennel at our surgery you can request a telephone appointment with a GP. They usually do them when they are closed at lunch time. It would be much quicker and easier to do this if the facility is available at your practice. If appropriate the GP can then fill in the form and leave it at reception.

The GP prints out a blood form. This can be arranged over the phone. The form has peel off adhesive parts for labelling purposes.

This form tells the hospital clinic or practice nurse which test to do, which phials to use. The colour of the lid on said phial coupled with the form means a certain test at the lab.
That is my understanding of it. In year past blood was taken from me every day then every other day , slowly dwindling to once a month.
Not all practices take blood and I often had to use the hospital clinic.

Granarchist I have had this problem for years at various GP surgeries. The regular nurses have problems and I have been made to feel a difficult patient but when I go to the phlebotomists at the hospital they have no problem at all. Some surgeries also have days when a phlebotomist visits to take blood which is probably the case for you next week and I doubt if you will have a problem.

Sometimes my blood has been taken using paediatric needles.
. It is a string to the bow of inventive phlebotomists.

Veins change and vary depending on health etc. Some days fine other days impossible to get the blood.

Up until this year paddyann the receptionist used to ring me as a reminder to make the appointment but somehow this year it hasn't happened. It had always been Feb/March as I have 3rd stage CKD. I don't like pestering them as other people's problems are worse than mine-------at the moment anyway.

The colour of the lid on said phial coupled with the form means a certain test at the lab.
Yes, that's how it works, although our forms are pre-printed and the boxes ticked as to what is required.

Thanks Jane43 - good idea - usually the blood expert nurse gets it on the second or third go - I dread someone having to find a vein in an emergency - why dont we have taps?!

I have a blood test when I have my annual medication review. The gp puts the request on my record, I make an appointment, the phlebotomist accesses the form and the results are available to view online on my record a few days later. A letter is sent if there are any concerns.