A full iron panel including ferritin — the marker that catches deficiency long before anaemia appears.
Referred by a GMC-registered GP, results reviewed by the same doctor
Taken at a partner site near you
Results explained in plain English, not just a number
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Ferritin measures your body's stored iron, and it is the test that identifies iron deficiency earliest — well before a full blood count shows anything wrong.
That distinction matters more than almost anything else on this page. Iron stores empty first, haemoglobin falls later. Someone can be genuinely iron deficient, with all the fatigue and hair shedding that involves, while their standard blood count reads as entirely normal.
Ferritin — the protein that stores iron. It reflects the size of your reserves rather than what is circulating today.
The number where symptoms begin is higher than the reference range suggests. Most UK laboratories flag ferritin as low only below around 15 µg/L. In practice, symptoms commonly appear below 30, and for hair shedding and restless legs specifically, many clinicians treat towards above 50. A result of 18 is frequently reported as normal and is frequently the explanation.
One caveat that catches people out. Ferritin is an acute phase protein — it rises with any inflammation, infection or liver problem. That means a normal-looking ferritin alongside raised inflammatory markers can conceal genuine deficiency. This is why we request CRP alongside it rather than reading ferritin in isolation.
Full blood count is included so haemoglobin and red cell size can be read together with the stores.
Said plainly: iron deficiency in a man, or in a woman past the menopause, is not simply something to supplement. In those groups it warrants investigation for bowel blood loss, and we will say so rather than hand over tablets.
Included: full blood count · iron · ferritin · total iron binding capacity · transferrin · transferrin saturation · folic acid · vitamin B12 · high-sensitivity CRP.
The hs-CRP matters more than it looks: ferritin rises with any inflammation, so a normal ferritin alongside a raised CRP can hide a real deficiency. Measuring both together is what stops that being missed.
A simpler iron status panel is available where a full anaemia workup isn't needed.
1. Consultation. We take a menstrual, dietary and gastrointestinal history — because the cause determines what happens next far more than the number does.
2. Referral. To a Randox Health clinic at a time that suits you. We usually request ferritin, full blood count, inflammatory markers and coeliac screening together, since testing them one at a time wastes weeks.
3. The sample. A single blood draw. A morning sample after an overnight fast is preferred, and stop iron supplements 48 hours beforehand — they falsely raise the reading.
4. Results review. A GP interprets ferritin against your symptoms and your inflammatory markers, not against the laboratory flag alone — and if replacement is appropriate, explains alternate-day dosing, which absorbs better and causes fewer side effects than daily. See iron tablets.
A morning sample after an overnight fast is preferred. Stop iron supplements 48 hours beforehand. Ferritin rises with any infection or inflammation, which can mask deficiency.
Most UK laboratories flag ferritin as low only below around 15 µg/L. That is a threshold for anaemia risk, not for symptoms.
So a ferritin of 20 can be reported as normal and simultaneously be the explanation. Both statements are true; only one is useful.
Ferritin is an acute phase protein. Any infection, inflammation or liver problem pushes it up — which means a reassuring ferritin alongside a raised CRP can conceal genuine deficiency.
That is why we request inflammatory markers alongside rather than reading ferritin alone. Ferritin in isolation is a number that can lie.
Stores empty before haemoglobin falls. Someone can be substantially iron deficient — with the fatigue, breathlessness, hair shedding and restless legs that involves — while their full blood count reads entirely normal.
"Your blood count was fine" does not mean your iron was checked. Ferritin is a separate test and is frequently not included.
Transferrin saturation below about 20% supports deficiency and is useful where ferritin is muddied by inflammation. Mean cell volume — small red cells suggest iron deficiency, large ones point towards B12 or folate instead, which is why those are measured together.
A raised ferritin is usually inflammation, alcohol or fatty liver rather than iron overload — but persistently high levels warrant looking at, including for haemochromatosis, an inherited iron-overload condition in which taking iron is actively harmful.
Supplement iron without establishing the cause in the groups where it is a red flag. Handing over tablets to a man or a postmenopausal woman with iron deficiency can mask a serious diagnosis for months, and we will say so rather than write the prescription.
Iron tablets are extremely cheap and available over the counter without any prescription. If deficiency has already been confirmed and the cause established, a pharmacy will sell you what you need for a few pounds.
And do not buy expensive "gentle" or liposomal iron before trying standard iron on alternate days — alternate-day dosing absorbs better and is far better tolerated, and that change alone solves most tolerance problems for pennies.
Iron deficiency is investigated and treated free on the NHS, including bowel investigation and intravenous iron where needed. The investigation is the part that matters most, and it is the part only the NHS route reliably delivers end to end.
Interpretation, not the sample. Reading ferritin against your symptoms and your inflammatory markers rather than against a laboratory flag — and knowing that a "normal" 20 in someone with hair shedding and restless legs is a finding rather than a reassurance.
Iron tonics and multivitamins with token iron content, which are nowhere near treatment doses. And supplementing without testing, which hides the cause and is genuinely harmful in haemochromatosis.
Look at the actual number rather than the word. Symptoms commonly occur below 30; hair shedding and restless legs often need it above 50 — well above the level a laboratory flags.
And check whether inflammatory markers were done. A normal-looking ferritin alongside a raised CRP can conceal real deficiency.
Yes, and it is common. Ferritin measures the stores; haemoglobin only falls once those stores are exhausted.
"Your blood count was fine" does not mean your iron was checked — ferritin is a separate test and is frequently not included.
Because in a man, or a woman past the menopause, iron deficiency is a red flag for bowel bleeding until proven otherwise.
Supplementing without investigating can mask a serious diagnosis for months. In a menstruating woman it is usually heavy periods — which are themselves treatable rather than something to endure.
Yes — 48 hours beforehand, otherwise the result reflects what you took rather than what you have stored.
A morning sample after an overnight fast is preferred.
Avoid testing during or immediately after a heavy period if you can, since the result will be at its lowest point.
That said, if heavy periods are the reason you are being tested, the low result is the finding — not an artefact.
Once daily or every other day — not three times a day. Alternate-day dosing absorbs better and causes far fewer side effects, and it is still not widely applied.
With vitamin C. Away from tea and coffee by an hour. Away from calcium and antacids. And at least four hours from levothyroxine, which iron blocks.
Harmless and expected on iron — though genuinely alarming if nobody warned you.
Black tarry stools with a foul smell are different and need assessing.
Longer than most people are told — at least three months after the haemoglobin has normalised, because the point is refilling the stores rather than correcting the count.
Stopping early is why the deficiency comes back.
Usually inflammation, alcohol or fatty liver rather than iron overload. But a persistently raised ferritin warrants looking at, including for haemochromatosis — an inherited condition where taking iron is actively harmful.
Diet alone rarely corrects an established deficiency, though it helps maintain stores afterwards.
Haem iron from meat and fish absorbs far better than plant iron, and with plant sources vitamin C alongside makes a real difference — while a cup of tea with the meal undoes much of it.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
Patient reviews
