Patient information

Haematology

Find out what to expect when you come to hospital for your appointment at the red blood cell disorder service.

Before your appointment

You will receive a letter before your appointment within seven days of your referral being received by the hospital. You are welcome to bring a relative, close friend or carer with you to your appointment. You are also welcome to ask for a chaperone and we will endeavour to provide one for you.

Please remember to check your appointment letter for anything specific you have been asked to bring. In addition, it would be helpful if you could bring the following:

Your full address and telephone number(s)
Your appointment card and appointment letter
Your GP’s name and address
Money to pay for any prescriptions, or an exemption card and for parking
All medications or a list of medications you are currently taking
A list of questions you may want to ask your consultant

During your appointment

When you arrive at the clinic specified in your appointment letter, please report to the administrator to check in. They will ask to see your appointment letter and check that your contact details are correct.

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

Your first appointment will take about 45 minutes. You should expect to wait about one hour before being seen by a clinician, though you may meet other members of the multidisciplinary team while you wait.

At your first appointment a detailed history and examination will be carried out by one of our doctors. You will then be sent for blood tests and other investigations considered necessary. Your doctor will tell you what they suspect the issue may be, and what the tests are aiming to establish.

After you see the consultant, go to reception to schedule any follow-up appointments you may require.

After your appointment

After your first appointment, you will likely have a follow-up appointment to review the results of your tests and identify the best treatment for you, if treatment is required. For certain conditions the follow-up appointment will be in one of our specialist clinics. Follow-up appointments take about 15 minutes, but you will be asked to arrive about 30 minutes early to have a blood test.

The time taken for a result to be issued varies greatly, depending on the type of test. The results of most routine blood tests are available within 48 hours, however some others such as genetic tests take longer. We may need to refer more specialised tests to other laboratories. Many results, including most blood tests, will be available within seven days.

Results of tests are sent to the GP or consultant who made the referral. Laboratories can only provide results to a healthcare professional involved in your treatment and cannot give results directly to you or a family member. If you need to know the result or have a query, please contact your GP or hospital consultant directly. You will usually be informed of the results of your tests at the next clinic appointment but any urgent results may be communicated sooner by telephone. If you require a follow-up appointment you should receive this on the same day of your attendance at reception.

Patient passport

Some of our patients are issued access card ‘passports’ for our service. If you require urgent advice about your condition, please refer to the relevant phone number in your passport.