Viewing Your Blood Test Results in the NHS App
What you can see, why some results only show a comment, and how to save a copy you can track over time.
Free to use, no credit card, works with results from any GP practice or lab
· · Reviewed against the sources listed at the end of this page.
The Quick Answer
Blood test results usually appear in the NHS App under Your health, then GP health record or Test results. Some results show as an actual number with a reference range, while others show only a short comment from your GP practice, such as results reviewed and no action needed.
What you see depends on your GP practice, not on the app itself. If you want your full, detailed coded record, including historic results, you usually need to ask your practice to switch that level of access on. Once you have a result on screen, saving it as a PDF using your browser or device print option, rather than a photo, keeps the text readable and lets you upload it to a tool like SmarterBlood to graph it over time for free.
Where Results Live in the App
The NHS App brings together several different areas of your GP-held information. Blood test results generally sit within these broad areas, though the practice behind your record decides how much detail is actually released into each one.
Your health
A general starting screen for health information linked to your GP registration
This is usually the first place results-related links appear after you sign in. It brings together several features in one place rather than being a results page on its own.
GP health record
Your coded medical record, including test results your practice has released
This is the closest thing to a full medical record inside the app. How much of it you can see, and how far back it goes, depends on the access level your GP practice has switched on for you.
Test results
A list of tests, usually with a date and, where released, a value and reference range
Results can take a few days to appear after the sample is taken, because they need to be reviewed by a clinician at your practice before being released to you.
Documents and letters
Letters, clinic outcomes and other correspondence your practice has shared digitally
Useful for context around a result, such as a specialist letter that explains why a test was ordered in the first place.
Why Some Results Show a Number and Others Only a Comment
This is one of the most common points of confusion. It usually comes down to how your GP practice has configured automatic release, not a fault with the app.
A number, with a reference range shown next to or below it
What it usually means: Your GP practice has chosen to release the raw value straight away, without a clinician adding a comment first.
What to do: Compare it to the range printed with it, not a range from another source, since the laboratory that ran your test set that particular range.
A short comment such as results reviewed, no action needed
What it usually means: A clinician at your practice has looked at the result and decided it does not need a call or an appointment, even though the figure itself has not been released.
What to do: You can still ask the practice for the actual number if you want to see it and track it yourself, for example through a message in the app.
A test listed with no value and no comment yet
What it usually means: The sample may still be processing at the laboratory, or the result has arrived but has not yet been reviewed by a clinician at your practice.
What to do: Most routine bloods are reviewed within a few working days. If it has been longer than a week with nothing showing, contact the practice to check.
Only some markers from a panel, not the whole set
What it usually means: GP practices sometimes release markers individually rather than all at once, particularly for larger panels that include several different tests.
What to do: Check back in a day or two, or ask the practice whether the remaining markers have been reported by the laboratory yet.
Reading the Numbers: Typical Adult Ranges
The ranges below are typical adult figures only, given as a general guide. Laboratories set their own reference ranges, so the range printed next to your own result always takes priority over anything shown here.
Haemoglobin
roughly 130 to 170 g/L in men and 120 to 150 g/L in womenA low result is often the first clue to iron, B12 or folate deficiency, or to ongoing blood loss.
White cell count
roughly 4.0 to 11.0 times 10 to the 9 per litreOften rises with infection or inflammation and can also be affected by some medications.
Platelets
roughly 150 to 400 times 10 to the 9 per litreVery low or very high platelet counts are usually followed up with a repeat test before anything else happens.
Sodium
roughly 135 to 145 mmol per litreCan be affected by fluid balance, some blood pressure medications, and illnesses affecting the kidneys or hormones.
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
above 90 millilitres per minute per 1.73 square metres is typically reported as normal for a younger adulteGFR naturally declines with age, so your practice will interpret it alongside your age and previous results, not as a single fixed cutoff.
HbA1c
below 42 mmol per mol is typically non-diabetic, and 42 to 47 mmol per mol is usually described as an increased risk rangeA single raised result is usually repeated before any diagnosis is made, since illness and other short-term factors can affect it.
Getting Full Access to Your Coded GP Record
If you want to see more than the app shows you automatically, including years of historic results, this is generally something you arrange directly with your GP practice.
Check what you can already see
Open Your health, then look for GP health record and Test results. Many people already have some automatic access without asking for anything.
Message your GP practice through the app
Most practices allow a short message asking to have fuller record access, including historic results, switched on for your account.
Expect an identity and safeguarding check
Practices are careful about who gets full record access, particularly where a record contains sensitive information about other people, such as a child. A short delay while this is checked is normal.
Ask specifically for coded record access, not just results
Being clear that you want your full coded record, not only future test results, helps the practice set the correct level of access the first time.
Follow up if nothing changes after a week or two
Practices vary in how quickly they action these requests. A polite follow up call is reasonable if you have heard nothing after a couple of weeks.
When to Contact Your GP Promptly
Most results in the app can simply wait for your next routine appointment. A few situations are worth a phone call sooner rather than later:
A result flagged as abnormal with no explanation and no contact from the practice
If a value looks marked as high or low and you have heard nothing from your GP practice, do not assume it has been dealt with. Call and ask directly.
New symptoms appearing alongside an abnormal result
Chest pain, breathlessness, severe headache, confusion or sudden weakness alongside an abnormal result are reasons to seek same-day advice, not to wait for a routine appointment.
A result you genuinely cannot get an explanation for
If a comment or number leaves you unsure whether it matters, ask the practice to explain it in terms you understand. You are entitled to that explanation.
The same marker trending in the wrong direction over several tests
A single borderline result is often less concerning than a marker that keeps moving further from the normal range test after test. Point this out to your GP even if each individual result looked fine on its own.
A test shown as requested but no result ever appears
Occasionally a sample is lost, mislabelled or not processed correctly. If a test you know was taken never produces a result within a reasonable time, follow up rather than assuming it was normal.
Turning Your Results Into a PDF You Can Keep and Upload
The app does not always offer a single download button for every result screen, but you can get a clean PDF using the print function that is already built into your browser or device. This is the same trick that works for almost any web page, and it keeps the underlying text, which a plain screenshot does not.
Open the result on a computer, tablet or phone
This works from any device with a modern browser. A larger screen simply makes it easier to check the page before saving it.
Use the print option in your browser or the app
Look for a print icon or a print option in the menu. This is the standard way to turn any on-screen page into a document, not something specific to the NHS App.
Choose Save as PDF instead of sending it to a physical printer
Most devices offer a destination or printer list when you print. Pick Save as PDF, or a similarly worded option, rather than choosing an actual printer.
Check the text can be selected, not just viewed
Open the saved PDF and try to select a word with your finger or mouse. If the text highlights normally, it has kept its text layer, which is exactly what you want for accurate tracking later.
Save it somewhere you can find again, such as a dated folder
A simple naming habit, for example the date followed by blood test, saves time later when you are looking back over several results.
A PDF with real text, rather than a photo of a screen, is easier to read back later, easier to search, and far easier for a tool such as SmarterBlood to extract accurately, because it can read the actual characters instead of trying to guess them from an image.
What Happens When You Upload the PDF to SmarterBlood
Every marker extracted automatically
Upload the PDF and SmarterBlood reads each test name, value, unit and reference range without you typing anything in by hand.
One graph per marker, across different sources
If your next test comes from a different GP practice, a hospital, or a private lab, SmarterBlood can still plot it on the same timeline as your NHS App results.
Out-of-range values flagged clearly
Results outside the typical range are highlighted so you can see at a glance which markers may need a conversation with your GP.
Plain-English explanations for each marker
Every marker comes with a short explanation of what it measures and what commonly makes it move, written for patients rather than clinicians.
A printable summary you can take to your GP
A tidy one or two page summary of your trends, useful when you want to talk through several results in a single appointment rather than one at a time.
Sources and reference ranges
Adult reference ranges on this page follow the AACB and RCPA harmonised reference intervals unless stated otherwise; the range printed on your own report always takes precedence because laboratories differ.
NHS App Blood Test Results, Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see all my blood test results in the NHS App?
You can usually see the blood test results your GP practice has chosen to share digitally, but not every practice shares every result in full. Some results appear as an actual number with a reference range, while others appear only as a short comment from the practice, such as results reviewed and no action needed. What is visible depends on your GP practice, its clinical system and its own sharing settings, not on the NHS App itself.
Why do some of my results only show a comment instead of a number?
GP practices can choose how much detail they release automatically. Many release the numeric value straight away for routine tests, but hold back on releasing a value with no context if a clinician wants to explain it first, particularly if it needs interpretation alongside your history. A comment such as reviewed, no action needed means a clinician has looked at the result and decided no follow up is required, even though you cannot see the figure itself.
How do I get my full GP health record with every test result?
Most people already have some level of automatic access through the GP health record section of the app. If you want full, detailed coded record access, including historic results and free text notes, you usually need to ask your GP practice directly, either through the app messaging feature, by phone, or in person. The practice will check your identity and may ask a few safeguarding questions before switching on fuller access.
Can I download my NHS App blood test results as a PDF?
The app itself does not always offer a dedicated download button for every result, but you can use your browser or device print function and choose Save as PDF instead of printing to paper. This keeps the result as real, selectable text rather than a photograph, which matters if you want to search it later or upload it somewhere for tracking.
Why do the reference ranges in the app look different from ranges I read elsewhere?
Reference ranges vary between laboratories because of differences in equipment, method and the local population used to set the range. The range printed next to your result in the app, from the laboratory that actually ran your test, always takes priority over any general range you read online, including the typical ranges mentioned on this page.
Is the NHS App the same for every GP practice?
The app looks the same wherever you are, but what feeds into it depends on your GP practice and the clinical system that practice uses to hold your record. That is why one person might see years of numeric results and another might see mostly short comments, even though both are using the same app.
Can I use SmarterBlood with results from the NHS App?
Yes. Once you have a result saved as a PDF, or a clear photo of a printed or screen result, you can upload it to SmarterBlood for free. SmarterBlood extracts every marker it can read, tracks it over time even if your next test comes from a different surgery or hospital lab, and explains what each value means in plain English.
Is it safe to upload my NHS App results to another website?
You should always think carefully before uploading health information anywhere. SmarterBlood is independent and is not affiliated with the NHS or the NHS App. It is provided as a free tool for people who want to see their own results graphed over time and explained in plain English, and it is not a clinic, a laboratory, and does not order or interpret tests on a doctor’s behalf.
Related Reading
Got a Blood Test Result From the NHS App?
Save it as a PDF and upload it to SmarterBlood for free. It will extract every marker, flag anything out of range, explain it in plain English, and graph it alongside any future results, even from a different GP practice or lab.
This page provides general information about the NHS App and typical blood test reference ranges. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not affiliated with the NHS or the NHS App. Always contact your GP practice about your own results, since they hold your full history and can interpret your results in context. SmarterBlood does not provide medical care.