Blood Tests

ICDC Blood tests

If you are a registered patient of the Ian Charleson Day Centre, you are now able to use our 'walk-in' service for blood tests. This means you do not need to make an appointment and we are no longer booking blood tests through Swiftqueue).

Blood tests are usually recommended every six months for most patients.

Sometimes we may need to monitor your blood test results more frequently, our team will let you know if this is the case.

Routine testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C

From April 4, 2022, all patients over the age of 16 years who visit a London emergency department and require a blood test, will be tested for HIV, hepatitis B and C.

We already screen for several infections or conditions when we take your blood, and these additional checks are now part of our routine screening programme at the Royal Free Hospital and Barnet Hospital.

This is in line with guidance from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Public Health England and NHS England and is part of the government’s commitment to reducing HIV transmission to zero by 2030.

Early diagnosis of blood-borne viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B and C means people can access the treatment they need sooner and expect to live long and healthy lives.

Many people living with HIV do not know they have the virus as it can take years for symptoms to develop. By testing in this way, treatment can be given sooner and prevent the virus from being passed on.

If you do not wish to be screened for these conditions when you attend one of our emergency departments, please let a member of staff know. This will not affect the care you receive from us.

For more information on routine testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C in our emergency departments, please see our patient leaflet which is available in Arabic, English, English in braille, English large print, Persian, Polish, Romanian, Russian. English large print and English in braille are available on request from the department.