Pathology

The Pathology Laboratory at Wye Valley NHS Trust is located to the right of the main entrance of the County Hospital in Hereford.

The Pathology Laboratory provides a full range of pathology investigations for Herefordshire and some areas in Powys. Samples originate from the County Hospital, General Practice surgeries and the Community Hospitals. The laboratory has electronic links with all locations to ensure speedy and accurate return of results.

Pathology handbook

Our full test repertoire and information for users and patients can be found in the Wye Valley NHS Trust’s Pathology Handbook

The above link is for the controlled version of the Trust’s Pathology Handbook. By following the above link you will have access to the most up to date information available for patients and for users. The Trust can only assure that the document obtained by this link is the current version.  For this reason the Handbook should not be printed or the link saved elsewhere, but should always be selected from this public webpage.

Outline of the department

Pathology at the Trust is a Pan Pathology accredited organisation, accredited by UKAS to ISO 15189:2022 for Medical Laboratories.

Our accreditation number is 8628 and the full accreditation schedule can be checked on the UKAS website.

Any questions about accredited activities should be directed to the Pan Pathology Quality Manager, Nicola Edmunds nicola.edmunds2@wvt.nhs.uk

Pathology is organised into four departments

Blood Sciences

The Blood Sciences department includes haematology, blood transfusion, clinical chemistry and immunology.  Patient samples are received from inpatient and outpatients at Hereford County Hospital, the community hospitals and GP surgeries across Herefordshire and beyond.  Each year around 754,000 samples are processed.

A list of tests that we can provide and their individual requirements and turnaround times please follow the link to the WVT Pathology Handbook

Haematology

Haematology investigations help the diagnosis of blood disorders e.g. anaemia, blood clotting problems and blood cancers; leukaemia's. Many of the tests are automated, but may only become meaningful after skill and judgement have been applied by our Biomedical Scientists. 

Blood Transfusion

Blood transfusion is the department that will determine blood groups and prepare blood products that patients may require after an operation, to manage some chronic illnesses, or in an emergency.

Clinical chemistry

Biomedical Scientists in clinical chemistry analyse samples of blood, urine or faeces for substances that give evidence of disease (e.g. renal disease or liver disease) or for abnormal levels of substances (e.g. glucose in diabetes, thyroid hormones in thyroid disease). These measurements are used in diagnosis, disease monitoring or in the early detection of disease.  Many of these tests are automated, any results outside of normal ranges will be reviewed by a clinical scientist who may add some useful comments to help the GP/clinician to diagnose and determine treatment.

Immunology

Biomedical Scientists and associate practitioner staff analyse blood samples for evidence of autoimmunity, for example coeliac disease and allergy, such as a nut allergy.  Immunology tests are also mostly automated, but many require further manual work with skill and judgement to determine accurate results for diagnosis.

Cellular Pathology – including Cytology and Histology

Cellular pathology is an integral part of the diagnosis of a patient’s condition. The final diagnosis for a patient is usually made by a Consultant Pathologist. A patient’s treatment plan is often based on the report issued by the Cellular Pathology department.

Cellular Pathology is the study of tissues and cells under a microscope. It is separated into two categories.

• Histology is the study of tissues (biopsies, resections, specimens from autopsy etc.)
• Cytology is the study of cells obtained from a fluid sample (fine needle aspirations, bronchoscopy obtained lung washings, urines etc.)

Microbiology – including bacteriology and virology

Microbiology is the study of all living organisms which are too small to be seen by the unaided eye.

Microbiology is an umbrella term which covers a wide variety of specialities, which include:

• Bacteriology, the study of bacteria.
• Virology, the study of viruses.
• Mycology, the study of fungi.
• Parasitology, the study of parasites.

And many more!

Common investigations in Microbiology include:

• Microscopy, using a microscope to view samples that cannot be seen by the unaided eye.
• Bacterial Culture, a diagnostic test to determine whether a specific bacteria was present by providing a predetermined culture medium and keeping them under controlled conditions.
• Sensitivity testing, determining what sort of medicine (such as an antibiotic) will work best to treat the infection.

Point of Care Testing (POCT) including Anticoagulation clinics

POCT analyses patient samples near to the patient at the time of collection, rather than sending to the lab. These methods will usually give a result within a few minutes.

Examples of POCT:

• Handheld blood glucose monitors
• Blood gas analysers on wards
• Lateral flow COVID-19 tests
• Pregnancy tests

Many more POCT tests are available.