Needlestick Injury Follow-up Blood Tests

Had a needlestick or sharps injury at work? After you have been seen by occupational health or A&E, you will usually be asked to have follow-up blood tests over the next few months. We take those samples at our Ilkley clinic. You do not need a referral, and your results are usually emailed to you within 2 to 3 working days.

We see nurses, dentists, dental nurses and hygienists, doctors, healthcare assistants, phlebotomists, care workers and anyone else who has had a sharps injury at work.

 

If the injury has just happened

Do not wait for an appointment with us. Let the wound bleed gently, wash it with soap and running water, and cover it with a waterproof dressing. Do not scrub it or suck it.

Then report it to your manager and get urgent advice the same day from your occupational health service or, if they are closed, A&E. If you need medicine to prevent HIV, called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), it should start as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours. It is not started more than 72 hours after the injury. You may also need a hepatitis B vaccine or booster.

We do not provide PEP or emergency care. The tests on this page are for the weeks and months afterwards.

 

Tests and prices

Blood-borne Virus Screen: £129

Tests for HIV 1 and 2 (a combined antigen and antibody test), hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C antibody. This is the follow-up screen most people are asked to have after a needlestick injury.

Book the Blood-borne Virus Screen: £129

 

Virus Screen with Hepatitis B Immunity: £168

The same screen plus your hepatitis B antibody level, from the same blood sample. Choose this if you do not have a record of your hepatitis B immunity, or your employer has asked for one.

Book the Virus Screen with Hepatitis B Immunity: £168

 

Hepatitis B Immunity Level: £69

Measures your hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) level to show whether your hepatitis B vaccinations have worked. You can book it on its own, for example after finishing a course of vaccine.

Book the Hepatitis B Immunity Level: £69

 

Each price includes your appointment with a HCPC-registered clinician, testing at a UKAS-accredited laboratory and your results. There is nothing else to pay.

 

When to have your tests

Follow the dates your occupational health service or A&E gave you. The right timing depends on the injury, what is known about the source patient and any treatment you had. As a guide:

If you took PEP, your HIV test should be at least 45 days after your last PEP dose.

If you did not take PEP, the final check is usually 12 weeks after the injury. Some services also ask for an earlier test at around 6 weeks.

If the source patient has hepatitis C, you may need an earlier hepatitis C PCR test and a final antibody test at 24 weeks. Call us and we will arrange the right test.

A test taken too early can miss an infection, because the markers these tests look for take several weeks to appear in the blood. A negative result is only reassuring if it is taken at the right time.

 

Hepatitis B immunity

Healthcare and dental employers need to know you are protected against hepatitis B. After a course of vaccine, national guidance (the Green Book) advises checking your antibody level 1 to 2 months after the last dose.

A level of 10 mIU/mL or more is generally accepted as protective. Between 10 and 100 mIU/mL, one extra dose of vaccine is usually recommended. Under 10 mIU/mL, a repeat course is usually recommended, followed by another test.

If you need a hepatitis B vaccine or booster, we can give it here. See our vaccinations page.

 

Booking for your staff

Dental practices, GP surgeries, care providers and other employers can book follow-up testing for staff. Book online in the staff member’s own name, or email us before booking if you would like the practice to be invoiced.

Results go to the person tested. We only share them with an employer or occupational health provider with that person’s written consent.

 

Your results

Results are usually emailed to you within 2 to 3 working days. If a result is unclear or shows a possible infection, a clinician will phone you to explain what it means and arrange referral to the right specialist service.

 

Common questions

Do I need a referral?

No. Book online and bring any letter or test dates your occupational health service or A&E gave you.

Can I be tested straight after the injury?

Get urgent advice from occupational health or A&E first, because PEP is time-critical. They usually take a baseline blood sample at the same time. If you were not given one, we can take it.

Is it confidential?

Yes. Your results are sent to you and are not shared with your employer without your written consent.

Do you provide PEP?

No. PEP needs to start as soon as possible and within 72 hours, through occupational health, A&E or a sexual health clinic.

What about testing the source patient?

The place where the injury happened arranges this, with the source patient’s consent. Their results help decide which follow-up tests you need.

Is this the test for exposure-prone procedure (EPP) clearance?

No. EPP clearance needs identity-validated samples, which must be arranged through your occupational health service under UK Health Security Agency rules. Ask them what you need.

 

Guidance we follow

UK guideline for the use of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis 2021, British HIV Association and British Association for Sexual Health and HIV.

Immunisation against infectious disease (the Green Book), chapter 18: hepatitis B, updated February 2026, UK Health Security Agency.

We also provide a full range of occupational health services for employers, and private blood tests for anyone who wants one.