Note: For the latest information and ordering supplies please access the pathology partnership website at www.eselpathology.nhs.uk/home where ordering supplies can be found here

Pathology Partnership Communications - November 2021

Pathology Partnership Communications - October 2021

Pathology changes - important information for GPs

Pathology Partnership Container Change Information

The East & South East London Pathology Partnership was formed on 1st May 2021 and the Pathology services testing provision for City & Hackney GPs will be provided from the hub laboratory at the Royal London Hospital Pathology Partnership site from early July.

Last year we successfully changed over the blood tube containers to a compatible supplier in use across the Partnership laboratories, and we now need to align the other “non-blood” containers used to take patients samples, including those used for tests on urines, swabs, faeces, sexual health screens and fluid samples.

This quality improvement change is required to enable compatibility and improved efficiency of sample testing on the robotic testing analysers used at the Royal London hub laboratory.

It is advised that the GP Practice Managers and their teams start ordering the new supplies now and that practices start using the new urine and routine swab/ sample containers from Monday 21st June 2021.

The Pathology Partnership team have produced the following information and numbered/hyperlinked attachments explaining the changes required-

1. GP Practice Consumable Supply Chain Code & Supplementary Ordering Information
2. New Versus Old Pathology Partnership Sample Container Guidance
3. New Kima Urine Container Guidance (Patient Instructions for MSU and other urine tests)
4. Instructions on how to take Microbiology & Virology swab, faeces & fluid samples using the new containers
5. Clinician Instructions on how to take a sexual health screen vaginal swab
6. Patient Instructions on how to take a sexual health screen vaginal swab (self-taken swab)
7. Clinician Instructions on how to take a sexual health screen throat swab
8. Clinician instructions on how to take a sexual health screen rectal swab
9. Instructions on how to take a urine sample sexual health screen (for male patients only)
10. Consumable order form for supplies provide by Pathology (these include the sexual health testing kits, FIT testing  containers and fungal sample containers)
11. Web page link for ordering the new Kima Urine containers  https://slaughter-nhsorder.co.uk/

Requesting Additional Tests

You may wish to ask for additional tests to be performed on a sample that is already in the laboratory. Please restrict these requests to occasions when the results are required for immediate patient management and could not feasibly be performed on a subsequent occasion.

Contact emails for additional tests are given below. In your email please state the patient’s full name, date of birth and NHS number, and the date of the sample and, if known, the 11-digit sample number.

Please contact Jeffrey Barron (Jeffrey.Barron@nhs.net) or Anne Hutcheon (anne.hutcheon1@nhs.net) for further clarity on this change and further information or with any concerns/queries as required.

External Links