Services Provided

The department provides a comprehensive routine diagnostic Histopathology, Non-Gynae Cytology and Post Mortem Service.

Location

The Histology Laboratory is situated within the Pathology Department on the first floor of Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (BHNFT). Visitors should enter through the main Pathology entrance and will be asked to sign in.

The Cervical Cytology Department is no longer sited at BHNFT (see the ‘Cervical Cytology’ page).

Opening Hours

Please note, there is no Histopathology on-call service provided for advice, outside of the above stated times.

Please see the Mortuary page for Mortuary opening hours.

Reports

All reports, once authorised by a Pathologist, are available electronically via ICE (available through the intranet home page). A paper copy is also generated and sent to the Clinician or source, as stated on the request card. If a paper copy is required, and has not been received, it is advisable to contact the Cellular Pathology Secretaries on Ext 2560, 2461 or 2333.

Sample Acceptance Criteria

All requests sent to the Cellular Pathology department must adhere to the :
CLINICAL SAMPLE ACCEPTANCE PROCEDURE

Samples that may require Molecular Testing

If it is suspected that the sample may require future molecular tests (such as PDL-1, EGFR, or ALK), the specimen collection and transportation requirements are very specific.

Please refer to the Non-Gynae Cytology page if taking fluids with the potential for further molecular testing.

If in any doubt, please contact the Histology laboratory, prior to retrieving the specimen.

Sample Transportation

Please refer to the Histopathology/ Non-Gynae Cytology pages for appropriate transportation of samples.

Tissue Sample Consent

Please refer to Section7 of the Trust Consent Policy

Urgent Specimens

Please indicate the urgency of the specimen on the request form, and the date by which a report is required. Specimens for MDT discussion should be labelled as such so that the reports can be ready in time for the meeting. Two week wait specimens must be labelled as ‘Urgent – 2 week wait’. Failure to identify priority specimens will lead to the specimen being treated as a routine sample and may delay the report being issued.

Urgent samples should be delivered to the laboratory promptly.

Laboratory Visits

Clinical staff are welcome to request a tour of the Histopathology Department, to gain an insight of the working practices of the laboratory. Please call Ext 2631 to arrange a visit.