Useful
Information
Address
County
Pathology Ltd
1 Huxley Road
The Surrey Research Park
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 7RE
Tel: 01483 450388
Fax: 05601 141073
E-mail: info@countypathology.co.uk
Web: www.countypathology.co.uk
Laboratory
Hours
Weekdays:
9:00am-5:00pm
Evenings/Weekends: Appointments available
Out of Hours: Ring the laboratory and you will be
connected to the on-call member of staff.
Containers
We can supply
request forms, bottles, swabs, 24 hr urine bottles, Smear
pots, needles and hubs at no charge, for samples being
sent to the laboratory.
Phlebotomy
We have an
on-site phlebotomy service. To book an appointment please
phone: 01483 450388.
Couriers
For regular or
one-off collections we can provide a rapid courier
service between clinics and the laboratory.
Sample
Storage
Samples will
be stored for a maximum of 10 days unless longer is
required by national legislation. Please let us know if
you require long term storage.
Home
Visits
If a patient
is unable to attend for a blood test we can arrange for a
phlebotomist to go out to a patients home. There is a
charge of £55.00 for patients within 10-miles of
Guildford.
Request
Forms (Download:
Request
form)
To minimise
confusion and error in the laboratory we prefer user
specific request forms, with an area devoted to common
requests from a particular doctor or clinic. New users
need to set this up or use our generic request form (link
above). We require a minimum of 3 identifiers on the form
and the samples. We suggest Forename, Surname and Date of
Birth or Unique patient ID number (e.g.: NHS number).
Please write the date and time of collection on the form
and sample together with any relevant clinical
information on the request form and clearly indicate the
tests required.
Clinical
Advice
The laboratory
can provide specialist clinical advice and
interpretation. Should you require this service please
contact the laboratory and we will get a specialist to
call you or provide you with a written comment.
Sample
Transport
The way in
which samples are transported to the laboratory depends
on the type and speed of testing required. We can arrange
for same day or overnight couriers, and postal services.
Please contact the laboratory to arrange the best
solution for your needs. All samples coming to the
laboratory must be packaged to a high standard of
containment and in such a way as to contain the contents
in the event of a breakage if they are roughly handled or
dropped. Pathology samples may contain infectious
material and should be treated with care.
Samples should be transported in a suitable transport
container designed for the purpose with sufficient
absorbent material to absorb the entire liquid content.
This should be placed in a zip lock bag. The request form
should be placed in a separate pouch.
If the samples are being taken by hand to the laboratory
they should be placed in either a transparent transport
box (To allow examination prior to opening) with the lid
securely sealed or a padded envelope. In the event of a
leak being detected place the transport container in a
plastic bag and take it directly to the laboratory for
safe disposal.
If the samples are to be posted pack as above using a
padded envelope and attach an address label with a UN3373
warning (Available from the laboratory). If a large
number os samples need to be posted we can provide
suitable transport boxes.
Reports
Results for
most tests we carry out on site are normally available
within 2 hours of arrival in the laboratory.
Report formats can be tailored to an individual clients
requirements with single or cumulative versions
available. We can also produce a graphical report for an
individual test to show how values change over time. This
is useful with tests such as tumour markers that are used
to follow a patients treatment.
The normal/therapeutic/risk ranges are printed on the
form and are adjusted for age and sex. All results
outside these ranges are flagged and highlighted in red.
Our reports are printed on A4 paper and they can be
posted, faxed or sent as an encrypted .pdf attachment to
an e-mail.