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Pathology and Laboratories

Warning alert box New Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) - March 2025

OUH Immunology, Biochemistry, Haematology and Microbiology Laboratories moved to a new Laboratory Information Management System on Monday 17 March 2025.

Delays to results return will persist for some time as the new system is embedded. Please be patient as our laboratory staff work to manage the transition.

Important message for GPs:

A key issue affecting the speed of order processing is that labels from requests made prior to 17 March are incompatible with the new system. This means test orders need to be registered manually by laboratory staff. Delays to results will be significantly reduced if GP requests made prior to 17 March are re-ordered on ICE at the point of sample collection so that a new accession number and label is generated. Old style labels can be identified by the presence of a 'ZZ' prefix before the test name. We appreciate that this is inconvenient and will not be possible in all cases.

If you have access to a centrifuge, please centrifuge ALL gold-topped serum and green heparin samples at collection to improve sample stability.

For further information for GPs, please see:

OUH Laboratory Information Management System replacement (pdf, 239 KB)

OUH staff please visit the SharePoint intranet: South 4 LIMS Project.

Laboratory investigations are essential for almost every patient who comes into contact with the hospitals and an increasing number of patients receiving treatment in the community.

More than three quarters of all medical diagnoses rely on laboratory investigations.

The department carries out over six and a half million tests each year. Most tests carried out by laboratory scientists are done on blood, urine or other fluid or tissue samples. Within these are some routine tests that are performed in very large numbers and others which are rare and complex.

Directorate of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Specimen Transport Protocol (pdf, 464 KB)

This is a controlled document.

The master copy of this document is held on iPassport. This document must not be copied or altered without express permission from appropriate management teams. This document will be reviewed on a regular, scheduled basis.

Tube guide

Tube Guide and Recommended Order of Draw (pdf, 347 KB)

Paediatric Tube Collection Guide (pdf, 110 KB)

A guide for successful collection of blood specimens is available here:

Tips for blood collection

Our laboratory services

For external organisations ordering tests from us: please note that, by sending us a sample and completed request form, you will be entering into an agreement based on our Terms and Conditions:

Terms and Conditions (pdf, 128 KB)

Information on turnaround times, tests available and ordering process can be found on this website, or you can contact us using the contact details listed on the individual laboratory websites.

If you intend referring work for the first time to any of our laboratories, or you intend a significant change (considered to be an increase of greater than 20 percent by activity), please contact the relevant laboratory prior to referral, so that the laboratory can assure you that they have the capacity and resources to meet your request.

If you are unsure of the specific laboratory, please contact Andrew Platt, Haematology Quality Manager.

Pathology accreditation

All laboratories within the Pathology and Laboratory Directorate are inspected annually by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) against international standards (ISO15189) and have achieved accreditation.

Pathology accreditation

Other related departments and organisations
Last reviewed:24 March 2025

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