Cholesterol results

Mabinogion

Hello
I was just enquiring as to whether a person is entitled to a breakdown of their cholesterol results.
I know the overall figure eg. say 5 is an overall figure but there is a HDL - high cholesterol which is 'good' and the LDL which is 'bad' cholesterol, I am only explaining this just to bring you to my point.
My husband phoned to the doctor for his is results and they gave him his figure which was 4.1 which sounds good but he wanted to know if the HDL figure was higher than the LDL figure.
He asked the receptionist for a breakdown of the results she didn't know and said she wasn't medically trained to give out that information
He argued the point with her that he was within his rights to ask for a breakdown of the results so she said she would have to find out and let him know.
Think we will be changing Doctors!!!

Cyclizine

Am I missing something? The receptionist has said she didn't know the breakdown, wasn't medically trained and said she'd find out and let him know? This seems entirely reasonable to me! Not sure why you're so angry about it.

Mojisola

Mabinogion wrote: »

He asked the receptionist for a breakdown of the results she didn't know and said she wasn't medically trained to give out that information

He argued the point with her that he was within his rights to ask for a breakdown of the results so she said she would have to find out and let him know.

Think we will be changing Doctors!!!

Massive over-reaction!

The receptionist didn't know the details and didn't have the information, is going to find out what they are and get back to your husband - what on earth could she do differently that wouldn't have your rushing to change surgeries?

System

Just make an appointment to see the GP. Receptionists arent medically trained.

Ames

If you just want to know the numbers can you sign up for online access to your records?

Mr_Costcutter

At our surgery patients who wish to have a break down of their results are able to request a print out - perhaps this might be an option for you. Then, if the information provided is a bit of a puzzle, the 'British Heart Foundation' have a free helpline 0300 330 3311 to assist. I have used this service myself and found the advice to be excellent.

indsty

The receptionist was perfectly correct to not give you further information. You could have asked for a print out of the results and gone in to collect them, or to speak to the doctor and get the HDL/LDL breakdown figures from him.

olgadapolga

The receptionist was right. The receptionists at my practice won't give any information beyond "normal" or "the doctor needs to see you about your results". I think that this is reasonable as they aren't medically trained. What if your husband then had further questions about his results and they couldn't answer?

The receptionists at my practice will, however, quite happily give me a copy of blood test results whenever I ask for them. They won't discuss them, obviously, but they'll print them off for me.

Your husband's practice should provide him with a copy of his results if he requests it.

[Deleted User]

None of the five cholesterol tests on my record have separate figures for HDL & LDL, so I assume it's not tested unless specifically requested.

teddysmum

All mine are given as two values with a target for each.


If I speak to a receptionist, I have to tell her specifically what reading I require, but this information is only available when the results have been checked by a doctor or practice nurse.


Also, one isolated pair of results is not necessarily worth acting on : I had one pair of higher than normal readings and the GPs' pharmacist who does some consultations wanted to increase my statins,but I asked for a 3 monthly repeat, upon which readings were normal again.

SimonHEARTUK

A total cholesterol reading is pretty meaningless and should not be taken in isolation. It is important to know the overall risk of heart disease- cholesterol is important but not the only factor. Knowing the HDL and LDL ratio is also important as too is knowing heart disease in the family, age and weight. Many general practices haven't caught up with cheaper technologies available and still send blood samples to hospital rather than the cheaper methods that provide instant results in the practice itself. So it could be that they do the tests the old fashioned way, which sounds like the case since you had to wait.