Follow up of hospital test results

The hospital is responsible for providing you with the results of hospital tests and for acting upon the results. They are also responsible for any queries you might have about your care with them, in the same way as GPs respond to patients’ queries about the care provided by ourselves.

In addition there are safety implications if a requesting hospital clinician makes a presumption that someone else will be following up their tests. 

Please contact the secretary of the consultant whom you are under so that they can put your query directly to the responsible doctor.

Failure of the hospital to respond to this request represents a breach of the hospital contract. See below for further information. 

The following is an extract from the NHS Standard Contract 2024/25,  https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/03-NHS-Standard-Contract-2024-to-2025-Service-Conditions-full-Length.pdf which hospitals must work to, regarding the follow up and action of tests organised by them:

‘’The Provider must:

12.1.3

notify the Service User (and, where appropriate, their Carer and/or Legal Guardian) of the results of all investigations and treatments promptly and in a readily understandable, functional, clinically appropriate and cost effective manner; and

12.1.4

communicate in a readily understandable, functional and timely manner with the Service User (and, where appropriate, their Carer and/or Legal Guardian), their GP and other providers about all relevant aspects of the Service User’s care and treatment.

12.2.1

provide service Users (in relation to their own care) and Referrers (in relation to the care of an individual Service User) with clear information in respect to each Service about who to contact if they have questions about their care and how to do so’’. 

The following is an extract from British Medical Association guidance:

‘’In some areas, hospital doctors have been instructing GPs to find out the test results which the hospital had ordered.

Both the BMA general practitioners committee and consultants committee agree this practice is potentially unsafe. The responsibility for ensuring that results are acted upon rests with the person requesting the test.’’