Basal cell carcinoma (BCC)
Your doctor or nurse has asked you to have a blood test at Kingston Hospital.
A blood test means we take a small amount of your blood and test it.
It helps us to decide the best way to look after your health.
This usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
You will have your blood test in the hospital's Blood Tests Department.
When you arrive, you must check-in at our Outpatient Appointments reception.
You may need to sit in a waiting room.
We usually take the blood from your arm. Sometimes we take it from your hand.
If you are wearing long sleeves, we may ask you to roll them up.
Try to sit as still as you can during the test.
To start the test we will put a stretchy band around your arm. It may feel a little bit tight, but it is not dangerous.
We will clean your arm with a wipe.
We can give you some cream or spray for your skin. It helps your skin feel numb and it will stop you feeling the blood test.
We will put a small needle into your arm. You will feel a scratch on your arm when we do this.
We will use the needle to take a small amount of blood from your arm.
We put your blood into a special tube so that it can be tested by an expert.
When we have taken the blood, we will take out the needle out of your arm.
We will put a plaster over the place where the needle was.
Sometimes the plaster is made of a cotton pad and some tape.
Usually the plaster only needs to stay on for 30 minutes.
After this, you are ready to go home.
Contact information
Kingston Hospital Blood Tests (Phlebotomy) Department