Text size

Theme

Language

"Blood test results"

About: Old Swan Health Centre

I rang the surgery this week for the results of blood tests for a suspected infection. I had routine blood tests at the same time as the specific test for the infection. The receptionist told me that the tests had come back OK and there was no action needed. When I questioned which tests had come back I was told the 3 different tests which had come back. None of these were the specific one for the infection. So I then confirmed with the receptionist that it still wasn't known if I had the infection and that the results hadn't been seen by a doctor. I was told to ring back later in the day and they would get the doctor to review the results. I rang back just before closing time and spoke to the same receptionist who told me that the results were all fine and I didn't have the infection. I asked had the doctor reviewed the results and I was told 'No, but I googled what blood tests they do and yours are Ok' . I was shocked at this and asked which tests they had received. I was again told just the 3 blood tests out of approximately 12 that were being tested. None of these 3 tests were the one for the infection. The specific test the receptionist was referring to that they thought proved I didn't have the infection was in fact one of the routine tests I have every few months. I told the receptionist that I was not happy with them googling how to read blood test results and then give advice to patients without the results being screened by a doctor. I rang the surgery the next day and spoke to a different receptionist; the results were still not in but I aired my concerns and was told ' oh it's just that the person you spoke to yesterday is only temporary and doesn't normally work here'. This doesn't make it OK to google results! I asked to speak to the practice manager but the receptionist said they didn't know who it was. I had to repeatedly ask who was in charge and I was told that no-one knew and that the receptionist I was speaking to had only been there 2 weeks. I was then told the manager only had an internal email address. I wasn't happy with this, there is no such thing as an internal email address. I was finally reluctantly given this address. The receptionists are usually Ok at this surgery so I'm hoping that this incident has been a one-off.

nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k