Blood test · Summertown, Oxford
✓ Finger-prick sample · result while you wait · No fasting

Folate blood test
in Oxford.

Folate (vitamin B9) is needed to make red blood cells, and a low level is a common and easily treated cause of tiredness. We also tell you whether a vitamin B12 check is worth adding, because the two are read together.
Book Folate test
All 13 blood tests
Folate test icon
Price per test
£39
Finger-prick · result while you wait · No fasting
OVER 18S · NO GP REFERRAL · SUMMERTOWN
  • One fingertip sample, no needle in the arm
  • Pharmacist explains the result before you leave
  • Printed or emailed result, and a GP letter if needed
Book now →
📞 Call Summertown
Screening test, not a diagnosis. Out-of-range results are confirmed by a laboratory test through your GP.
Same visit
Result while you wait
£39
All-inclusive, no clinic fee
No fasting
Preparation
18+
Adults only · book online
What the test measures

What Folate tells you.

Serum folate reflects your recent intake of folate from leafy greens, pulses and fortified foods. Low levels cause a type of anaemia with large red cells and symptoms such as tiredness, breathlessness and mouth ulcers. Folate and vitamin B12 work together, so a low folate result should always be read with B12 in mind.

It can…

  • Show whether your folate is low, borderline or adequate
  • Point to diet, alcohol or a medicine as the likely reason
  • Track a supplement when repeated after two to three months

It can’t…

  • Stand in for a vitamin B12 test - treating low folate without checking B12 can mask a B12 problem
  • Tell you whether to take folic acid before pregnancy: the NHS advice is 400 micrograms a day for everyone trying to conceive, test or no test
Worth booking if

A good fit if…

  • You feel tired and run down and want the full picture with iron and vitamin D
  • You eat few vegetables, drink more than you should, or take methotrexate, some epilepsy medicines or long-term antacids
  • You have been told your red cells are large
See your GP first if

Not the right first step if…

  • Numbness, pins and needles or problems with balance - these point to B12 and need your GP
  • You are pregnant or trying: take folic acid regardless, and ask your GP about the higher dose if you have diabetes, epilepsy or a high BMI
A finger-prick test cannot assess an emergency. Call 999 for chest pain, breathlessness or collapse.
Your visit

What happens, start to finish.

About thirty minutes in total, most of it the pharmacist talking you through the result.

1. Book online

Pick your test and a time at Summertown.

2. A few questions

Medicines, symptoms and consent, in the consultation room.

3. One finger-prick

A few drops onto the test cartridge. Less than a flu jab.

4. A short wait

The analyser runs while you wait in the pharmacy.

5. Result explained

Against the UK ranges, with what it can and cannot tell you.

6. Your next step

Printed or emailed result, advice, and a GP letter if one is needed.

Understanding your result

What your result looks like, and what it means.

Your printed and emailed result shows your value on a traffic-light bar like this, with a plain-English line and your next step.
Below 7
7 to 10
Above 10
Deficient
Borderline
Adequate
Example: 13 nmol/L sits in the green band – adequate.
ResultWhat it usually meansWhat we do
Below about 7 nmol/LDeficientA short course of folic acid usually corrects it, once B12 has been considered. We give you a GP letter if B12 has not been checked.
About 7 to 10 nmol/LBorderlineImproving diet is often enough; recheck in two to three months.
Above about 10 nmol/LAdequateNo action needed.
These bands are the usual UK guide; your printed result shows the exact reference range the analyser uses. Some healthy people fall just outside a range, and one reading is a snapshot. The pharmacist reads your result with your history, and anything that needs confirming goes to your GP with a letter.
Folate FAQ

Common questions, answered.

No. Tell us about any supplement you take.

Low folate and low B12 cause the same anaemia, and taking folic acid can hide a B12 deficiency while nerve damage continues. B12 needs a venous sample, so if your folate is low we send you to your GP for it.

Yes – 400 micrograms a day until week 12, whatever your folate level. The test is not needed for that decision.

Methotrexate, some epilepsy medicines, sulfasalazine and long-term use of some antacids. Alcohol lowers it too.

Your serum folate level, which reflects how much folate you have taken in recently from leafy greens, pulses and fortified foods. A low level is a common, treatable cause of tiredness and a type of anaemia.

No. They are different vitamins that work together to make red blood cells, and a shortage of either causes the same anaemia. That is why a low folate result should be read with B12 in mind; B12 needs a venous sample, which your GP can arrange.

Often checked together

Add a test from the same finger-prick.

Up to four tests can run from one sample, each £39. See all 13 blood tests →

Ferritin (iron stores) test

£39 · same visit
Read more →

Vitamin D blood test

£39 · same visit
Read more →

HbA1c (blood sugar) test

£39 · same visit
Read more →
Where

MediPill Summertown

📍 227 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7HQ
📞 01865 558 348
Blood tests run Monday to Friday. Opening hours and directions →
Book at Summertown
Who runs it

Pharmacist-led

Led by pharmacist Uthmaan Abbasi (GPhC 2237035). Analysed on a professional point-of-care analyser in our consultation room – your sample never leaves the building.

Ready for your Folate test?

£39, result while you wait, explained by a pharmacist. Book online for Summertown.
Book Folate test →