00Results
Results, and how you get them
Everything that goes to a laboratory has a promised turnaround, and an abnormal result is always a phone call from the consultant, never a letter you open alone.
00How results are given
Five moments, each with a promise.
Most answers are given in the room. Everything that goes to a laboratory has a promised turnaround, listed on the right.
- 01Within one working day of a photoClaire replies to the triage line with one of three words: today, this week, or routine, and the appointment that fits. Free.
- 02In the roomA mole check, full-body check or consultation ends with a verdict and a written note. You are not sent away to wait for a letter.
- 03Within 2 working daysMole mapping reports, and the letter to your GP after any appointment. Blood results for isotretinoin and hair clinics.
- 04Within 5 working daysHistology on anything removed. The surgeon who took it phones you, whatever the result; urgent cases are reported in three.
- 05If something is abnormalThe consultant phones you the day the report lands, books the next step within a week, and refers you the same day to the NHS skin cancer team if it is a melanoma.
| Test | Turnaround |
|---|---|
| Photo triage reply | Within 1 working day (4 working hours on a plan) |
| Mole check verdict | In the room |
| Mole mapping report | 2 working days |
| Histology, routine | 5 working days, phoned |
| Histology, urgent | 3 working days, phoned |
| Patch test result | Friday of the test week |
| Isotretinoin and hair-clinic bloods | 2 working days |
| Biologics screening bloods | 5 working days |
| Letter to your GP | 2 working days |
median histology turnaround, january to december 2025
00If something is abnormal
A phone call from the surgeon, never a letter you open alone.
Abnormal histology is phoned by the surgeon who took the sample, the day the report is signed, with the plan and a date. We do not post cancer results, and we do not leave them on voicemail: if we cannot reach you we keep trying and send a message asking you to call Rosie.
- 01The consultant who took the sample phones you the day the report is signed.
- 02You are told the diagnosis, the plan and the date of the next step, within a week.
- 03A melanoma is referred to the NHS skin cancer team the same day, with the letter written properly and nothing charged for it.
- 04If we cannot reach you we keep trying and send a message asking you to call Rosie. We do not post cancer results or leave them on voicemail.
- 05Your GP receives the report within two working days, and a copy is yours on request.
Histology on everything
Everything removed goes to a consultant dermatopathologist and the price includes it. The surgeon phones you with the result within five working days.
The three-day promise
If we cannot offer a mole check within three working days of your call or photo, the check is free. Same-day slots for bleeding, crusting or a mole changing within weeks are held every weekday and released at 08:00 to whoever rings.
00What next
Reassure, re-check, or remove.
Every check ends with one of three verdicts in writing. Here is what each means for the diary.
01Reassure
Nothing to do. Photographs kept on file; a yearly check if your skin history calls for it.
02Re-check
Dermoscopy again in three months, £45, to see whether anything has moved. Most have not.
03Remove
Excision or shave within the week in our own minor operations room, histology included, result phoned within five working days.
Worried about a mole?
Ring, or send a photo. Either way, you are seen.
Mole checks within 3 working days; same day if bleeding.
Front porch, Chestnut Avenue
Four spaces on the gravel drive including one blue badge; free on-street parking on Chestnut Avenue, tight on Wednesdays
Garden entrance, Chestnut Lanestep-free
Drop-off bay at the door; two spaces reserved for surgery patients on the day