The foundation blood test — red cells, white cells and platelets, reviewed properly rather than skimmed.
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
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The full blood count is the starting point for almost any investigation. It counts and characterises the three cell types circulating in your blood — red cells, white cells and platelets — and in doing so screens for anaemia, infection, inflammation and clotting problems from a single sample.
It is the most commonly requested blood test in the UK, and also one of the most commonly under-read. A result reported as normal may still contain a pattern worth acting on, because the individual indices carry information that the headline haemoglobin does not.
Haemoglobin — the oxygen-carrying protein. Low haemoglobin is anaemia; the cause is what matters and the other indices point towards it.
Mean cell volume (MCV) — the average size of your red cells, and the single most useful clue to the cause of anaemia. Small cells suggest iron deficiency or thalassaemia trait. Large cells suggest B12 or folate deficiency, an underactive thyroid, alcohol or liver disease. Two people can have identical haemoglobin and entirely different problems.
White cell count with differential — neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils counted separately. The pattern is informative: neutrophils rise with bacterial infection, lymphocytes with viral, and raised eosinophils suggest allergy, asthma or, occasionally, parasitic infection.
Platelets — involved in clotting. Low platelets can cause bruising and bleeding; raised platelets often simply reflect inflammation or iron deficiency.
Haematocrit, MCH and MCHC — supporting measures of red cell concentration and haemoglobin content.
An important limitation to state plainly: a normal full blood count does not exclude iron deficiency. Iron stores fall long before haemoglobin does, so someone can be genuinely iron deficient — with the fatigue, hair shedding and restless legs that go with it — while their FBC looks entirely normal. That is why we usually request ferritin alongside it rather than instead of it.
Included: haemoglobin · haematocrit · mean cell haemoglobin · mean cell haemoglobin concentration · mean cell volume · red blood cell count · white blood cell count with full differential (neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils) · platelet count.
1. Consultation. We establish what we are actually looking for. A full blood count requested without a question in mind produces a number rather than an answer.
2. Referral. You receive a referral to a Randox Health clinic. You choose the location and time.
3. The sample. A single blood draw. No fasting needed.
4. Results review. A GMC-registered GP goes through the result against your symptoms, not just against the reference range — including the indices that a brief report tends to skip over. Where something needs following up, we arrange it.
No fasting required. Recent infection, exercise and dehydration can all affect results.
Red cells and haemoglobin — how well oxygen is carried. Low means anaemia, and the mean cell volume tells you what kind: small cells point to iron deficiency, large cells to B12 or folate deficiency, alcohol or thyroid disease.
White cells — the immune response. A raised count usually means infection or inflammation; the differential says which type of cell is raised, which narrows it considerably.
Platelets — clotting. Low raises bleeding risk; high is most often reactive to inflammation, iron deficiency or recent infection rather than anything sinister.
A normal full blood count does not exclude iron deficiency. Stores empty long before haemoglobin falls — so someone can be substantially deficient, with the fatigue and hair shedding that involves, and have a completely normal FBC.
"Your blood count was fine" is not the same as "your iron was checked". Ferritin is a separate test.
Around one healthy person in twenty falls outside a reference range on any given marker, purely by definition. A count measures ten or more markers, so a flagged value on a well person is close to expected.
What matters is the size of the abnormality, whether it is new, and the trend. A slightly low white count that has been the same for five years is different from the same value appearing for the first time.
Recent infection, strenuous exercise, dehydration, smoking, pregnancy and steroids all move these values around. Repeating an isolated mild abnormality after a few weeks is often more informative than acting on it.
Overwhelmingly, something benign. Mild abnormalities are common, frequently transient, and usually explained by a recent illness or by normal variation.
Where a result is markedly abnormal, or persistently so, that warrants proper assessment — and occasionally urgent haematology referral. That is a small minority, and we will be clear which situation you are in rather than leaving you to guess.
If the question is "am I tired because of my iron", ask for ferritin. If it is "is there inflammation", ask for CRP. A full blood count on its own answers fewer questions than people expect, which is why it is usually requested alongside others.
A full blood count in isolation answers fewer questions than most people assume. Where the reason for testing is fatigue, it is worth pairing with ferritin, thyroid function, B12 and inflammatory markers — which is what the fatigue panel does, and usually costs less than requesting them one at a time.
A full blood count is free on the NHS with any relevant symptom, and it is one of the most commonly requested tests in general practice. If you are registered and have symptoms, that route costs nothing.
Speed, and the interpretation. Being told what a mildly abnormal value means — and specifically whether it needs repeating, ignoring or acting on — is worth more than the number itself, and it is the part most often missing.
Repeating a mild abnormality every few weeks out of anxiety. And buying a full blood count as reassurance about cancer — it does not do that, and believing it does is actively harmful.
No — and this is the most important thing on the page. A normal full blood count does not exclude cancer. Most solid tumours do not affect it, particularly at an early stage.
It can show changes in blood cancers such as leukaemia, but even there a normal count does not rule them out.
If you have symptoms that worry you, those symptoms need assessing — a reassuring blood count is not the answer.
Usually not. One healthy person in twenty falls outside a reference range on any given marker, and a count measures ten or more.
What matters is how far outside, whether it is new, and the trend. Most mild abnormalities are transient and explained by a recent illness.
You can be iron deficient with a normal count — which is not quite the same thing and matters more.
Stores empty before haemoglobin falls. Ferritin is a separate test, and "your blood count was fine" does not mean it was done.
Most often infection or inflammation, and frequently something that has already passed. Strenuous exercise, stress, smoking and steroids all raise it too.
The differential is what narrows it — raised neutrophils suggest bacterial infection, raised lymphocytes viral, raised eosinophils allergy or parasites.
Often normal variation, and it is genuinely commoner in people of African and Middle Eastern heritage — a recognised benign pattern that is sometimes mistaken for a problem.
Otherwise it follows viral illness, some medicines, and occasionally autoimmune conditions. Persistently low counts warrant assessment; a one-off mildly low count usually warrants repeating.
Usually not. Most raised platelet counts are reactive — to inflammation, infection, iron deficiency or recent surgery — rather than a primary problem.
Persistently high counts need investigating, and iron deficiency is a common and easily missed explanation.
No. But recent infection, heavy exercise and dehydration all affect results — so if you have been unwell, waiting a couple of weeks gives a more useful picture.
Frequently yes, and that is a legitimate answer rather than a fobbing-off. An isolated mild abnormality repeated after a few weeks resolves most of these questions without further investigation.
Marked or persistent abnormalities are different, and we will say so clearly.
Yes — the full blood count is the full blood count. What differs is the speed and the time spent explaining it.
If you are registered with a GP and have symptoms, the NHS test is free, and we would say so.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 2026
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Told when a test isn’t needed
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Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
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Typically 10 minutes
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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.
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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.
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