If your test was organised by Morningside Medical Practice

When you attend for a test of any kind, you will be told how long you should expect to wait for the results. Typically:

• Blood tests take 7-14 days,
• Swab and urine tests take 7-14 days,
• Imaging tests takes 10-14 days.

Please bear this in mind and contact our receptionists after 11:00 once sufficient time has elapsed. 

We have a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection, and we can only provide results to the person they relate to unless that person has given prior permission for their release or if they are not capable of understanding them.

• The clinician who organised your test will review your result and provide a comment to the report.
• Once commented upon, the result can be obtained via our receptionists, which may include any suggested actions.
• Please note, our receptionists are not qualified to provide any additional information and it is your responsibility to make any necessary follow up appointments.

If your test was organised by the hospital specialists:

It is the responsibility of the clinician who initiated the test to provide the results. Therefore, if your test was taken in the hospital setting and not initiated by your GP, the hospital clinicians should provide the result, as your GP may not be able to interpret the result fully. 

Morningside Medical Practice will not be able to chase up these results, but if you feel that the result is taking too long, we ask you to call the consultant’s secretary directly.

The hospital switchboard number on 0131 536 1000.

To improve infection control, we have changed our policies on patients and their carers handling bodily fluid specimens (urine, faecal, sputum). We ask that all patients and/or carers speak with a clinician before handing a sample. A sample that is handed in without clinician authorisation or labelled may be discarded.

Please note that due to increased volume of calls for appointments at the start of the day, we ask patients to call after 11:00 for any test results

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.