UHW Laboratory Services Homepage

Laboratory User Manual for University Hospital Waterford Pathology Department
WRH-PATH-PD-001*

University Hospital Waterford Pathology Department is an INAB accredited* testing laboratory (Registration Number 170MT). The current scope of accreditation is available on www.inab.ie

*Effective 01/02/2022 Histology Laboratory has voluntarily suspended its INAB accreditation  

See laboratory service updates

Introduction

Mission Statement: “The Regional Department of Laboratory Medicine is committed to providing a pathology service of the highest quality to all its users”.

Pathology is a clinical service, which carries out investigations on specimens from patients. It is central to the diagnosis, management and treatment of disease. The service is at the heart of the development of modern scientific medicine, and the practice of pathology has become steadily more diverse and complex.

The pathology service in the HSE - South Eastern area serves a population of approx. 500,000. This includes 30 hospitals and 221 General Practice services. There are 4 acute hospitals with a combined acute bed number of approx. 1100.

The laboratory services for HSE CHO5 area are located at 4 sites within the South East of Ireland. The vast majority of the service is located at University Hospital Waterford. All the pathology consultants are based at this location, as are, approx. 200 scientific staff. The regional laboratory is divided into five main departments: Biochemistry, Blood Transfusion, Haematology, Histopathology and Microbiology. Other sub-disciplines exist within these departments. The regional service for Microbiology and Histology is based in Waterford and all relevant samples are sent directly there. Virtually all work referred from General Practice is processed by the the regional laboratory at UHW.

Laboratory Directory

• Biochemistry
• Blood Transfusion
• Haematology
• Histology
• Microbiology
• Point of Care Testing
• Laboratory IT
• Laboratory Supplies
• Laboratory Contact Information
• Additional Consent and Request Forms

Test Library (search by Test name)

This section provides details pertaining to specimen type, specific requirements ( if necessary), frequency of analysis and turnaround times for each test performed in the laboratory. Phone alert limits are defined where relevant. The user should contact the laboratory if additional tests are requested on the sample. The lab will advise if the sample is suitable to analyse the additional test request. ** UHW does not claim accreditation for any tests performed externally.

Note for Paediatric requests only: Please be advised that the test library below predominately refers to blood sample requirements for adults. The specimen type/anticoagulant for paediatric samples will be the same however the colour coding of the specimen container may differ. If you have any query on what is required please contact the relevant laboratory for further information. 

Please Note: Information regarding test methodologies or principles is available on request by emailing the Laboratory

Routine Hours

• Monday to Friday: 8am to 8pm
• Saturday: 9.30am to 12.30pm

Emergency Requests

In the event of an emergency (eg. Major Haemorrhage/ Trauma), the relevant laboratories should be informed of all emergency requests during routine and on-call hours to ensure requests are processed without delay.

Out of Hours "On-Call" Service

Outside of the above times, an emergency "on-call" service is provided in Biochemistry, Haematology, Blood Transfusion and Microbiology. Tests available on-call are indicated within the discipline-specific pages. 

Any samples sent to the laboratory during this time must be notified to the medical scientist in the relevant department. This is done by contacting the hospital switchboard who will bleep the relevant department accordingly. Only non-deferrable/emergency samples should be sent to the laboratory during this time. 

Address

Pathology Laboratory
University Hospital Waterford
Dunmore Road
Waterford
X91 ER8E

Laboratory Contact Information

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)

UHW (and all HSE hospital laboratories in the South East) use the iLAB APEX Laboratory Information Management System (v. 5.8) supplied by DXC Technology PLC 

This system is managed by the Laboratory Information Systems Manager based in UHW.

The system is used to manage all aspects of registration, processing and reporting of the several thousand test requests the laboratory receives on a daily basis.

It is interfaced to a multitude of systems allowing for electronic transfer of patient information, demographics, and requests to instrumentation used in the analysis of results and the transmission/return of results back to the Laboratory system once complete. 

Lab Web Enquiry System

Staff working for the HSE in hospitals, Primary Care Centres, and Community Care Services can access patient results held on the lab system using Lab Web Enquiry 

Laboratory Supplies

Internal Laboratory supplies for UHW are fulfilled by the laboratory. 

Supplies for external locations; GP practices, nursing homes hospitals, etc are fulfilled by Cruinn Diagnostics Ltd. 

View the Laboratory Supplies page for further information and order requisition forms.

Quality Assurance

As part of its commitment to total quality, the Laboratory participates in several quality assurance schemes run by various organizations including the Irish External Quality Assessment Scheme and the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Scheme (UKNEQAS). Copies of the results of these external quality assessments are available on request.

Feedback

Complaints Consumer Affairs and the National Advocacy Unit, Quality and Patient Safety Directorate have responsibility for developing and implementing best practice models of customer care within the HSE and promotes service user involvement across the organisation through the concept of 'Your Service Your Say'. For more information see https://www2.hse.ie/complaints-feedback/

The Pathology Department aims to provide the best possible service to our users. But there may be times when you think we could do better and sometimes you may even want to tell us about something we have done well.

If you have a Complaint or Complement about the service we provide please get in contact. This provides us with the opportunity to improve the quality of the services we provide. If you wish to give feedback contact the relevant department as outlined using the contact details provided on this site. The relevant laboratory will follow up complaints promptly as per their laboratories procedures.

Confidentiality Policy

It is the responsibility of all staff, as defined in their contract of employment to ensure that all information which they have access to as part of their work is treated in the strictest confidence and protected from unauthorised access.

The laboratory is be responsible, through legally enforceable agreements, for the management of all patient information obtained or created during the performance of laboratory activities. Management of patient information includes privacy and confidentiality. The laboratory will inform the user and/or the patient in advance, of the information it intends to place in the public domain. Except for information that the user and/or the patient makes publicly available, or when agreed between the laboratory and the patient (e.g. for the purpose of responding to complaints), all other information is considered proprietary information and shall be regarded as confidential.

‍When the laboratory is required by law or authorized by contractual arrangements to release confidential information, the patient concerned shall be notified of the information released, unless prohibited by law. Information about the patient from a source other than the patient (e.g. complainant, regulator) shall be kept confidential by the laboratory. The identity of the source will be kept confidential by the laboratory and shall not be shared with the patient, unless agreed by the source.

Links

Phlebotomy Services (note Phlebotomy Dept. is not managed by laboratory service)

Completing request forms and labelling the specimen

Additional Consent and Request Forms

Transportation of samples to the laboratory

Reporting of results

Genetic testing

*Please note this User Manual is Frequently updated as information, requirements for tests, and changes to test parameters change. Please refer to this website's changelog page for details. Further details are also available from the laboratory on request.