Home Testing

Some of the tests you might usually come into hospital for can also be carried out at home. With home testing, we send out the testing kit to your home, alongside information on how to carry out the test and how to send your sample back to us. Once we have received your sample, we will process your results. If your results require any action, a member of your healthcare team will contact you to discuss.

You will carry out your test using a self-testing kit and follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the information leaflet enclosed. Information leaflets related to home tests will be available to download from this page soon. 

Your healthcare team will decide whether home testing will support the management of your care and talk to you to see if it might work for you. It may not be suitable for all conditions, you can discuss any questions you might have with your healthcare team.

Home testing allows you to carry out certain health tests at home, in a comfortable and familiar setting rather than in the hospital. It also avoids you having to travel to the hospital which can save you time.

You will be given a return envelope or box with the postage paid for. If your sample is a capillary sample, you can post this directly into a letter box. If your sample is a cough swab, sputum or nasal sample you need to take it to the post office to return to us. Please refer to the instructions in your kit if you are unsure.   

Tests can take between three and five working days to be processed in our laboratory once we receive them. If your results need any follow up, your healthcare team will contact you within 10 working days of us receiving your results. If you are concerned, please contact your healthcare team. Contact information can be found at the bottom of this page.

Yes. Please contact your healthcare team if you have been asked to carry out a home test but are unable to do so. They will be able to arrange for you to come to the hospital to do the test.  

A number of our healthcare teams have been running home testing for many years. In the wake of Covid-19, many more of our services have introduced home tests for patients as a way of monitoring them remotely and reducing the number of visits they need to make to the hospital. 

If you have any questions about taking the test, if you think you have any kit missing or if you have any other concerns, you can contact us on the numbers below.