Pathology

• Biochemistry
• Haematology and Blood Transfusion
• Histopathology
• Microbiology
• Mortuary
• Phlebotomy and Venepuncture

About Us

The Histology department offers a service covering the collection, processing, evaluation (using a wide range of tissue dyes, histochemical reagents and immunohistochemical antibodies) and reporting of formalin fixed tissues. The department also performs frozen sections on request; andrology studies on both fertility and post vasectomy semen samples and can carry out immunofluorescence techniques on skin samples. A Non-gynae service for the cytological examination of body fluids and aspirates is also available.

The Histopathology service is provided from Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI).

Laboratory address

Histopathology department
New Path Lab
Royal Lancaster Infirmary
Ashton Road
Lancaster
Lancashire
LA1 4RP

Laboratory location

We can be found at the back of the hospital, close to the helipad and adjacent to Medical Unit 2.

Normal Laboratory Opening Hours

The service has a core working day from 8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday-Friday. There is no weekend or Bank Holiday service provided. No 24 hour emergency service is provided.

Urgent requests should be made only when the result will affect the immediate management of the patient. Requests for urgent tests should be made to the appropriate extension.

Enquiries and Results

Royal Lancaster Infirmary - 01524 591502/ 591507

Typical Turnaround Time and Validation of Results

We aim to report the results of cases within the following timescales:

• Urgent samples (including breast core biopsies, non-gynae cytology cases (excluding urines & non-suspicious Thyroid Fine Needle Aspirations) and biopsies with clinical details stating a suspicion of cancer) 85% within 7 calendar days,
• Priority samples (including prostate cores, skin punch biopsies for Squamous Cell Carcinoma, cervical cases & cases appropriately marked as being 2 Week Wait / Cancer Pathway) 80% within 10 calendar days
• Routine samples (including skin excisions for non-melanoma skin cancers and resection specimens) 95% within 42 calendar days (although this may be affected by service backlogs)
• Andrology samples (fertility and post vasectomy) 1 working week.

We aim to report results to your clinician within the above timeframes. The Laboratory cannot provide results directly to patients.

There are times when the report may be delayed due to additional investigations or the requirement for a specialist opinion.

Microbiology is a comprehensive clinical and laboratory service that assists with diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. The Microbiology laboratory uses culture, microscopy, serological and molecular tests to detect and identify causes of infection, while also testing different antibiotics against infectious bacteria. This enables expert clinical advice to be available for healthcare professionals on infection management, prevention and control.

Key functions of a microbiology service

Diagnostics: Performs a wide range of diagnostic tests on a wide range of patient samples to identify microorganisms causing an infection

Clinical advice: Provides expert advice to healthcare professionals from Consultant Microbiologists on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of infections.

Infection prevention and control: Supports infection prevention and control efforts within hospitals and communities, often involving screening for resistant organisms like MRSA.

Antimicrobial stewardship: Advises on the appropriate use of antibiotics to help combat antibiotic resistance.

Surveillance: Monitors and reports on the local and national spread of infectious diseases.

The Microbiology service is provided from Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) and Furness General Hospital (FGH)

To provide both patients and service users with confidence in our service the department is accredited by UKAS to ISO 15189:2022. This is an international standard that specifies requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories to ensure the integrity, impartiality, and accuracy of our services.

Laboratory addresses

RLI Microbiology department
New Path Lab
Royal lancaster Infirmary 
Ashton Road
Lancaster
LA1 4RP

Laboratory location: Royal Lancaster Infirmary. We can be found at the back of the hospital, close to the helipad and adjacent to Medical Unit 2.

FGH Microbiology department
Furness General Hospital
Barrow-in-Furness
LA14 4LF

Laboratory location: Furness General Hospital. We can be found at the front of the hospital, through main entrance, past WRVS shop and first turning on the right

Normal Laboratory Opening Hours

The service is available to serve users during core hours from 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday-Friday. There is reduced weekend or Bank Holiday service provided while a 24-hour emergency service is provided.

Healthcare Professionals should make urgent requests only when the result will affect the immediate management of the patient. Requests for urgent tests during working hours should be made to the appropriate extension below. Outside of core hours only clinicians associated with the patient’s care should after consulting appropriate trust guidance contact the Consultant Microbiologist through switchboard.

Enquiries and Results

Royal Lancaster Infirmary - 01524 512408

Furness General Hospital - 01229 491061

Telephone Results Enquiries
Test results are only given out over the phone to Heath professionals, the laboratory is legally obliged not provide patients with results under any circumstances. Additional tests on a sample will only be undertaken at the request of a Health professional who, upon contacting the department will be provided with details on how to request additional test (s) and to supply the clinical justification for it.

Sample transport to the laboratory
Samples should be transported to the laboratory as soon as possible on the day they have been obtained. If there is going to be a delay then contact the Heath professional who requested the test or your local laboratory. Please note appropriate laboratory supplied sample containers should be used as unapproved containers could invalidate the test.

Typical Turnaround Time and issuing of Reports
We aim to report the results of cases within the following timescales from the point of receipt into the laboratory, but does not reflect time taken to review by the clinician and to contact the patient

Urgent samples

• Microscopy and/ or cell counts on samples (including Pus / Fluids tissue Respiratory, Cerebral spinal fluid, synovial fluid, ascetic fluid tissue and urine samples from under 5 years of age): 2 hours
• Culture results, provisional results with 24 hours, final report 72-96 hours

Routine samples

• Microscopy and Culture (including Swabs and fluids) final report 72-96 hours
• Urine culture final reports 48-72 hours

Specialist tests

• In some instances, this laboratory will refer samples to a specialist laboratory if the tests are not undertaken here. Final reports 10 days

A blood test is one of the most common tests a healthcare provider can use to monitor your health or to help diagnose medical conditions. We receive significant numbers of blood samples every day at both our main laboratories (Furness General Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary). We also have a small laboratory at Westmorland General Hospital available to support services at Westmorland General Hospital.

Our Blood Sciences laboratories offer a comprehensive service covering the collection, processing and evaluation of blood, urine and faeces to help support diagnostic decisions and health checks from cancer care to rare genetic disease monitoring to blood grouping and anti-coagulation monitoring.

Our three Blood Sciences laboratories also provide Transfusion services for the treatment of patients on each of our hospital sites.

Laboratory addresses

Blood Sciences Department
Furness General Hospital
Dalton Lane, Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria LA14 4LF

Blood Sciences Department Russell Curwen Laboratory
Royal Lancaster Infirmary
Ashton Road, Lancaster Lancashire LA1 4RP

Blood Sciences Department - Pathology Laboratory
Westmorland General Hospital
Burton Road, Kendal, LA9 7RG

Normal Laboratory Opening Hours

Both laboratories are open 24/7, 365 days a year.

Enquiries and Results

Test results can only be provided to Healthcare Professionals involved in the care of a patient.

The Biochemistry laboratories can be contacted by Healthcare Professionals through the established channels.

Patients should contact the Healthcare Professional involved in their care in the first instance for the majority of queries. The Blood Sciences laboratories can be contacted via the Hospitals’ switchboards when direct advice is required from the laboratory.

Typical Turnaround Time of Results

The results for most routine blood tests analysed onsite are produced within 1 working day of receipt of the sample in the laboratory for routine requests. Results for patients admitted to the Hospitals are normally available within 4 hours of sample receipt and within 1 hour for urgent requests from the acute medical areas. Results will often need to be reviewed by the Healthcare Professional who has requested the tests before being communicated to patients.

Some tests require specialist skills and equipment and so are referred to other laboratories across the country. These tests can take a little longer to perform and to report, generally taking between 2 to 4 weeks. If you are concerned that the results are taking too long to come back you should contact the requesting clinician.

Additional tests may be performed on patient samples due to the results of requested tests or following the clinical review of results or discussion with the requesting clinician. These additional tests will only be performed when clinically necessary to support diagnosis or monitoring of treatment.

There are times when the report may be delayed due to additional investigations or the requirement for a specialist opinion.

The Blood Science service is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory, No. 9640