Point-of-Care Stool Testing

Your consultant may recommend POC stool testing if you have symptoms that suggest an infection affecting your digestive system or another bowel-related condition.

The test may be appropriate if you have:

• diarrhoea, particularly if it’s severe, persistent, or keeps returning

• nausea or vomiting

• abdominal pain or cramping

• fever alongside gastrointestinal symptoms

• blood or mucus in your stool

• unexplained changes in your bowel habits

• suspected food poisoning

• diarrhoea following recent overseas travel

• symptoms occurring during a suspected outbreak of infectious gastroenteritis

Rapid identification of the cause of your symptoms helps your consultant distinguish between bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. This supports more targeted treatment and may help:

• reduce unnecessary antibiotic use

• identify infections that require specific medication

• support appropriate infection control measures

• determine whether further investigations are needed

• avoid delays in diagnosis and treatment

Although the test is highly effective at identifying many infectious causes of diarrhoea, it does not diagnose every digestive condition. If your symptoms are caused by inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, bowel cancer, or another non-infectious condition, your consultant may recommend additional investigations.

OC stool testing is simple and non-invasive.

The process usually involves the following steps:

1. Referral and consultation – You’ll be referred by your GP or consultant and assessed by a gastroenterology specialist to determine whether the test is appropriate for your symptoms.

2. Providing your sample – You’ll be asked to provide a fresh stool sample in a clean specimen container.

3. Laboratory analysis – Your sample is processed using the QIAstat-Dx Gastrointestinal Panel. The system analyses the sample for a wide range of bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens using advanced molecular technology.

4. Clinical interpretation – Your consultant reviews the results alongside your symptoms, medical history and examination findings before discussing the most appropriate treatment or any further investigations.

The testing itself takes approximately 1 hour, and Welbeck aims to provide your clinical report within 24 hours.

The test identifies genetic material from a wide range of gastrointestinal pathogens directly from your stool sample. Rather than relying solely on traditional culture methods, molecular testing detects the DNA or RNA of infectious organisms, allowing results to be available much more quickly.

However, your consultant does not rely on the laboratory result alone.

Your diagnosis is based on a combination of:

• your symptoms

• your medical history

• recent travel history, if relevant

• physical examination

• your POC stool test results

• any additional investigations that may be required

This approach helps make sure your treatment is tailored to your individual situation rather than based on a laboratory result alone.

POC stool testing is considered a very safe investigation because it only requires collection of a stool sample.

There are no needles, anaesthetic, or invasive procedures involved.

The main considerations are:

• you may find collecting a stool sample unpleasant

• occasionally, a sample may need to be repeated if there isn’t enough material for analysis

• although highly accurate, no diagnostic test is 100% accurate, so your consultant may recommend further tests if your symptoms continue despite a negative result

Overall, the benefits of obtaining a rapid diagnosis usually outweigh these small inconveniences, particularly when symptoms are severe or persistent.

One of the advantages of POC stool testing is that it requires very little preparation.

In most cases, you can continue your normal daily activities before providing your sample. Your consultant will let you know if there are any specific instructions based on your symptoms or medical history, but for most patients, no special preparation is needed.

To help make sure the test produces the most accurate results:

• collect your stool sample exactly as instructed

• use the sterile specimen container provided

• avoid contaminating the sample with urine or toilet water

• return the sample promptly so it can be processed as quickly as possible

• tell your consultant if you've recently taken antibiotics or travelled abroad, as this may help them interpret your results

If you're unsure how to collect your sample, our clinical team will explain the process and answer any questions before your appointment

There’s no recovery period after POC stool testing because it is completely non-invasive. Once you’ve provided your sample, you can continue your normal daily activities straight away.

Your consultant will review your results alongside your symptoms and medical history before discussing the next steps with you.

Depending on your diagnosis, they may recommend:

• supportive treatment, such as maintaining hydration while your symptoms improve

• medication, if a bacterial or parasitic infection is identified

• avoiding unnecessary antibiotics if a viral infection is detected

• further investigations if your symptoms cannot be explained by the test results

• referral to another specialist if an underlying digestive condition is suspected

If your symptoms become significantly worse while waiting for your results, or you develop severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, dehydration, high fever, or significant rectal bleeding, you should seek urgent medical advice.

The self-pay price for private POC stool testing at Welbeck is £262.50. This test is not currently covered by private health insurers.

At Welbeck, our gastroenterologists are experts in their field and are dedicated to providing world-class care to every patient.

With access to colleagues across other specialties, our consultants are also able to refer within the Welbeck ecosystem if required to ensure you receive the treatment you need as quickly as possible, all under one roof.

All appointments, testing, treatment, and follow-up appointments take place within our state-of-the-art facilities, enabling us to deliver accurate diagnostics and advanced treatments.

To book a POC stool test, you must be referred by either your GP or a consultant following a consultation with them. Self-referrals are not accepted for this test.

If you would like to schedule a consultation with one of our gastroenterologists, please get in touch to make an appointment. Your health is important to us, so we strive to offer same-day appointments whenever possible.

Our consultants are recognised by the major health insurance companies. If you have private health insurance, your treatment at Welbeck can begin once you have obtained authorisation. We also provide care to self-paying patients. Learn more about the different payment options at Welbeck.