Blood tests need to be completed before 10.30am in order to get these fresh samples to the laboratory at SDH for processing. If you are booking an appointment for a blood test please bear this in mind.
For fasting blood tests you need to avoid eating or drinking anything except water from midnight on the day of the test (effectively from the moment you wake up). Drinking tea or coffee, chewing gum or eating anything will adversely affect the results, which may then need to be repeated at a later date.
Different blood tests take different times to process. Some may take up to a week, and then need to be transmitted to the practice and viewed by one of the doctors before they can be given out. Please be patient awaiting your results. If anything serious is found, the laboratory will usually telephone to let us know and we, or the out of hours service will contact you as quickly as we can to discuss it with you.