Our pathology department, or laboratory medicine as it is sometimes known, provides laboratory and testing services and specialises in detecting disease through a variety of investigative techniques. Our work is vital in finding an accurate and early diagnosis and improving the prospects for treatment.
Barnsley and Rotherham Integrated Laboratory Services
The Directorate of laboratory Medicine provides in-house routine diagnostic services for Blood Sciences, Blood Transfusion and Microbiology, with 24/7 unbroken support for emergency medicine. A routine Histopathology service is provided along with mortuary and post mortem facilities to serve the Trust and the district coroner.
Over recent years, the Pathology departments at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have been working together to strengthen our alliance with the aim of progressing to a fully merged Pathology service. This merger will result in significantly improved services to both our GP and hospital based users.
This document identifies which tests are performed on each site.
Details of referral laboratories used to perform tests can be provided upon request.
Read about the various roles and work that our teams are involved in to ensure a first-class service for people across Rotherham and Barnsley.
General information
Location
The Laboratory is situated on ‘A’ level (top floor). Following the signs for Pathology, at junction 2 go down the corridor opposite the lifts and the Pathology department is first on the left through the double wooden doors. Pathology Reception is straight ahead.
Opening times
For departmental opening times please refer to the departmental webpage.
Key contacts
Below are a list of key contacts within the Laboratory Medicine directorate.
Additional contact information is provided within individual departmental web pages.
Laboratory Director
Dr Magdalena Turzyniecka
Tel : 01709 424051
BRILS Business and Service Manager
Annette Davis-Green
Tel : 01226 432787 (Barnsley) / 01709 424023 (Rotherham)
Quality Manager
Dan Firth
Tel : 01226 432289 (Barnsley) / 01709 424008 (Rotherham)
Departmental key contacts are available on their respective webpages.
Laboratory accreditation
The Laboratories
within the Laboratory Medicine Service provided at The Rotherham NHS
Foundation Trust are a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 9623.
The
laboratories work in line with the ISO 15189:2012 standard. The ISO 15189 standard is an international standard
which outlines the requirement for quality and competence for Medical
Laboratories. The ISO standard has replaced the Clinical Pathology
Accreditation (CPA) standards, which the laboratory has been accredited to
since their introduction in 1996.
The
accreditation process involves annual visits by the United Kingdom
Accreditation Service (UKAS) to ensure compliance against the standard.
Accreditation
provides assurance to the users of the Pathology service that we are providing
the best quality service.
A
full list of all accredited tests provided by the laboratory is detailed in our
Schedule of Accreditation: UKAS
Schedule of Accreditation - ISO 15189
Some
tests provided by the laboratory are not included within the Schedule of
Accreditation. These tests are managed within the Laboratory Quality Management
System. If further information is required please contact the laboratory via
the contact details on their web page.
Laboratory Medicine complies with the BEIS Policy ‘The National Accreditation Logo & Symbols:
Conditions for use by UKAS and UKAS accredited organisations (June 2018)’ and
we therefore kindly request that where
our users make reference to the accreditation status of our service, that they
use the phrase “a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 9623”.
Sample and request labelling
The responsibility for requesting a laboratory service or test lies with an authorised and trained practitioner (normally a Clinician). It is the responsibility of the requester to ensure that the identity of the patient is confirmed and that all samples are correctly labelled and request forms are completed to agreed standards in accordance with the Laboratory Medicine Sample Acceptance Procedure, failure to do so may result in the sample being rejected.
Urgent requests
Procedures for requesting urgent tests are located within departmental handbooks located on their respective webpage.
Preparation for the patient and consent requirements
Certain tests require patient consent to be given due to the nature of the testing and the consequences of the results. Any genetics testing requested must have the patient’s informed consent prior to taking the sample. When the electronic order is generated, it is understood that the Doctor named on the form has discussed the consequences of the results with the patient and obtained consent. Any manual forms must be signed by the Doctor to indicate that consent has been obtained. Any special considerations for the preparation of a patient or requirements for the sample are provided in the departmental handbooks located on the department’s webpage. Please refer to the information in the handbooks prior to taking samples.
Specimen collection
Before collecting Patient samples please refer to the department user handbook for information on the type and amount of the sample required and the sample container including any additives if required. The handbook will also outline any special timings for the sample and instructions for the inclusion of clinical information relevant to or affecting sample collection, test performance or result interpretation (e.g. History of administration of drugs, fasting sample).
Blood Samples must be collected in line with the local Venepuncture procedure. The person collecting the sample should be identified on the request form and sample.
Order of draw
Completing the request form
Samples for Blood Sciences and Microbiology can be requested using electronic ordercomms systems (Meditech and SunQuest ICE). The use of electronic ordercomms reduces the number of sample rejections as it prompts for mandatory information required by the laboratory to carry out testing and it also speeds up the sample receipt process.
Handwritten request forms must comply with the Laboratory Medicine Sample Acceptance Procedure.
Requesting the clinician and location
Please ensure that the clinician and requesting location are completed and legible on the handwritten request form. Failure to do so may lead to a delay in processing.
Please note that abbreviations may result in the incorrect clinician or location being selected and as a consequence, the results for the patient may be sent back to another clinician.
Whilst the laboratory staff make every effort to minimise errors, staff can only book samples into the system with the information they are provided with.
Clinical information
Clinical details should also be included on the request. These can be significant to the results obtained and, in some cases, insufficient clinical details may mean that the request is rejected.
'Danger of infection' stickers
Samples from patients with blood borne virus diseases constitute a particular hazard to laboratory staff. All infectious or potentially infectious specimens and their accompanying request forms should be clearly marked with “Danger of Infection” stickers. The range of investigations available on such specimens may be limited. Please contact the laboratory for further information.
Transport of specimens to the laboratory
Sample storage prior
to transport
Users of BRILS should note that timely transport
of samples to the laboratory is important in ensuring the quality of the test
results. GP and community users must ensure that samples are collected and
transported on the next available collection. Blood samples must not be refrigerated prior to transport.
All specimens must be transported to the
laboratory on the day they are taken. Any delays in specimen transportation,
for example, delays due to adverse weather conditions, may affect the integrity
of the sample which can lead to unreliable test results.
Chemistry
All Chemistry gel tube sample tests will be
affected. Samples delayed over 12 hours cannot be processed.
Blood Glucose specimens in fluoride tubes and HbA1C
specimens in EDTA tubes may be stored in a refrigerator overnight.
Haematology
Full blood count specimens in EDTA tubes may be
stored in a refrigerator overnight.
Microbiology
All urine, swabs etc may be stored in a
refrigerator overnight.
Histopathology
Specimens may be stored overnight at room
temperature.
Transport from wards and other areas within the Trust
Pathology specimens are potentially infectious and hazardous. Care must be taken to minimise the risks to staff when transporting specimens in the Air Tube chute system or in metal transport boxes. The collection and transportation of samples are also critical factors affecting the quality of results. It is essential, therefore, that users of the service adhere to the Sample Transport Procedure for Wards.
Samples from patients with blood borne virus diseases constitute a particular hazard to laboratory staff. All infectious or potentially infectious specimens and their accompanying request forms should be clearly marked with “Danger of Infection” stickers. Do not send samples labelled as danger of infection in the air tube system.
Transport from community premises (GPs) and other sources outside the Trust
Samples that are transported by road using hospital transport vans or taxi must comply with the Sample Transport for the Community Procedure in order to comply with the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Act.
Confidentiality
Laboratory Medicine is committed to ensuring the confidentiality of all patient sensitive information.
All data and information acquired while providing the services of the laboratory is handled in strict accordance with the Trust Confidentiality Policy. This ensures data is managed in compliance with all relevant legal obligations, standards and guidelines and professional codes of conduct.
The Pathology Confidentiality Policy builds on the Trust’s Confidentiality Policy in giving clear guidelines on the transmission of patients’ Pathology results and reports.
Please note: The Pathology service does not offer results directly to patients. Patients are advised to contact the Clinician responsible for their care to obtain their results.
Complaints/user feedback
Complaints
If you have any concerns about the services provided by the laboratory please let us know using any of the contact options provided above.
Formal complaints can be made through the Trust Patient Experience Team http://www.therotherhamft.nhs.uk/yourexperience/
User feedback
Periodically Laboratory
Medicine will perform formal user satisfaction surveys. The information
gained from these surveys will enable laboratory management to look at the
service we provide and decide how to improve it to meet the needs and
requirements of our users, as part of our commitment to continually improve
quality.
The results from our 2021 user survey
can be found in the links below:
Uncertainty of measurement
The laboratory has determined uncertainty of measurement for all assays where a numerical value is reported or used to determine the result, these values are obtainable by contacting the laboratory.
For other tests where a numerical value is not part of the determination of the result, the laboratory has undertaken a quality risk assessment in which all the factors that are known to affect the quality of the result have been taken into consideration and actions taken to minimise the risks.
Further information about Pathology Services within the NHS please refer to
http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/aboutnhsservices/pathology/Pages/pathology-services-explained.aspx
The content of this page was last updated: Monday 13 February 2023 by Catherine Stone.
