Pathology Services
Pathology is the study of diseases, focussing on causes, development and progress of disease and how the body is affected. Pathology is involved in approximately 70% of all diagnoses made in the NHS. We have a number of laboratories performing a variety of tests and procedures for both our Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital patients.
Women's Hospital services
Pathology Services at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, comprises the departments of Clinical Chemistry, Cellular Pathology (Histopathology, perinatal pathology and Andrology) and Haematology and Transfusion. The hospital is located in the University campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham and provides a range of specialised health care services to more than 50,000 women, men and families each year.
Children's Hospital services
Pathology Services at Birmingham Children’s Hospital comprises the departments of Blood Sciences (Clinical Chemistry, Haematology and Transfusion), Histopathology, Microbiology and Newborn Screening and Biochemical Genetics. The Children’s Hospital is based in the city centre and is a leading UK specialist paediatric centre, offering expert care to 90,000 children and young people from across the country every year.
To find out more about the services we offer at both of our hospitals please see our services page.
Our team
All departments employ a range of highly qualified, experienced staff, including clinicians, clinical scientists, biomedical scientists, medical laboratory assistants and administrative staff in providing a quality diagnostic service to a wide range of users. The laboratory provides support to clinicians to ensure appropriate investigations are requested and provide appropriate interpretation and clinical advice to ensure the highest quality of care is delivered.
As a department, we are continually developing and improving the service for the investigation and diagnosis of disease. It is our mission to provide an outstanding service, to share and spread new knowledge and practice and to always be at the forefront of what is possible.
Key contacts
Laboratory Director and Pathology Services Manager
Darren Redfern
0121 333 9835
darren.redfern@nhs.net
Quality Manager
Michael Chorlton
0121 333 9923
michael.chorlton1@nhs.net
| Department | Contact number |
|---|---|
| Women's Hospital | |
|
Haematology |
0121 472 1377 Ext 5518 |
|
Blood Transfusion |
0121 472 1377 Ext 5551 |
|
Clinical Chemistry |
0121 472 1377 Ext 5532 |
|
Cellular Pathology |
0121 472 1377 Ext 5520 |
|
Andrology Patient Access Team |
0121 627 6845 |
|
Cytology Training School |
0121 472 1377 1377 |
| Children's Hospital | |
|
Diagnostic Haematology |
0121 333 9867 |
|
Blood Transfusion |
0121 333 9874 |
|
Specialist Coagulation |
0121 333 9869 |
|
Molecular Haemostasis |
0121 333 9862 |
|
Clinical Chemistry |
0121 333 9912 |
|
Histopathology |
0121 333 9833 |
|
Microbiology |
0121 333 9802 |
|
NSBG Screening |
0121 333 9900 |
|
NSBG IMD |
0121 333 9942 |
|
Research and Development |
0121 333 9921 |
Opening hours
| Department | Opening Hours |
|---|---|
| Women's Hospital | |
| Haematology | Open 24/7 |
| Clinical Chemistry |
Open Monday — Friday 09:00 - 17:15 with last receipt of samples at 16:45. No service outside of stated hours or on bank holidays. |
| Cellular Pathology |
Open Monday — Friday 07:30 - 16:30. No service outside of stated hours or on bank holidays. |
| Andrology |
Open Monday — Friday -08:00 - 16:00. No service outside of stated hours or on bank holidays. |
| Mortuary |
Open Monday — Friday 09:30 - 14:30. No service outside of stated hours or on bank holidays. |
| Children's Hospital | |
| Haematology | Open 24/7 |
| Clinical Chemistry | Open 24/7 |
| Histopathology |
Open Monday — Friday 08:45 - 17:15. No service outside of stated hours or on bank holidays. |
| Microbiology |
Open Monday — Friday 08:30 - 20:00. Open Saturday — Sunday, and bank holidays, 08:30 - 17:00 No routine Microbiology service outside of stated hours COVID testing open 24/7. |
| NSBG |
Open Monday — Friday 09:00 - 17:00. No service outside of stated hours or on bank holidays. |
| Research and Development |
Open Monday — Friday 09:00 - 17:00. No service outside of stated hours or on bank holidays. |
| Mortuary |
Open Monday — Friday 09:00 - 17:00. For service outside of stated hours contact the on-call clinical co-ordinators via switchboard. |
Availability of clinical advice
If you wish to ask for clinical advice on ordering examinations or discuss the interpretation of the examination results, please contact the relevant department.
Complaints
Pathology Services operates a complaints system in line with the Trusts ‘Making Experiences Count Policy’.
Complaints, comments or feedback regarding the services provided by pathology can be made verbally or in writing (letter or email). Please contact the Pathology Services Manager or the Quality Manager.
If you feel that your concerns have not been put right you can make a formal complaint.
Health and safety
The departments ensure the safety of all personnel and visitors within Pathology.
In the event of a sample-related health and safety issue occurring outside the pathology department e.g. spillage of a sample, please contact the relevant department immediately for further information. Non-NHS staff must not attempt to remove or clear up sample spillages.
Data protection
The department complies with the Trust policies relating to the handling, use and protection of personal information
- We only ask for information that we need to allow interpretation of results
- We protect the information and ensure only those staff who need to see the information can access it
- We share the information only when we need to for patient cases, for example sending the information to another laboratory for testing
- The data will be stored in accordance with The retention and storage of pathological records and specimens (5th edition) Guidance from The Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science, April 2015. We do not store any information for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
Guidance notes
The above information is required by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Article 28(3)) which required data processing agreements to include details of the subject-matter, duration, nature and purpose of the processing and the type of personal data and categories of data subjects involved in the data processing.
Maintaining quality in Pathology
Pathology services at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (Licence number: 120011) recognise its responsibility as a provider of a quality services. To this end, the laboratory has developed and documented a quality management system to better satisfy the needs of its users and to improve the management of the organisation. The quality system complies with regulatory and accreditation standards as well as best practice guidelines and is audited against them by external agencies.
ISO 15189 Accreditation:
Laboratories below are accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
- Haematology (including Fetal Anomaly Screening) at BWH (Accreditation number 10259)
- Cellular Pathology at BWH (Accreditation number 10259)
- Diagnostic Andrology at BWH (Accreditation number 10259)
- Histopathology at BCH (Accreditation number 9890)
- Microbiology at BCH (Accreditation number 9896)
- Blood Sciences at BCH (Accreditation number 9899)
- Newborn Screening and Biochemical Genetics at BCH (Accreditation number 9948)
For details of which tests are accredited within each department, please search for our schedule of accreditation on the UKAS website. Tests conducted within our laboratories not appearing on the schedule are not UKAS accredited but are performed by the same trained and competent staff.
Blood Safety and Quality Regulations (BSQR):
Laboratories below are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
- Blood transfusion at BWH
- Blood transfusion at BCH
Human Tissue Act (HTA):
Laboratories below are approved and registered with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA).
- Cellular Pathology at BWH (License numbers 12219, 12565)
Histopathology at BCH (License numbers 12132 & 11005)
A high-quality service is maintained by reviewing feedback from meetings, audits and satisfaction surveys. Any additional service user feedback about our services is welcomed and should be brought to the attention of the Quality Manager.
Please refer to the departmental handbooks on our services page for further information relating to examinations/tests (ISO 15189:2022 7.2.2).