Turn around times

Turnaround times are based on the average time from receipt of sample to time of report. We aim to get 90% of results available in this stated time. But there may be exceptions with samples processed over extended bank holiday periods, and tests performed at specialist referral laboratories.

It is important to note that results are often available on ICE before the times quoted. In addition, any urgent results that may affect the clinical management of the patient are telephoned by the Consultant Microbiologist or biomedical scientific staff as soon as they are available.

Some serology tests which are performed in-house may require the specimen being sent to a reference laboratory for confirmation and further testing. This will result in a delay in the turnaround time, but all significant results are telephoned ASAP.

Expected turn around times for samples can be viewed on the test repertoire pages of bacteriology and serology or on clicking the link here to see an alphabetical list of individual tests. Barnsley_Micro_annual_TAT_2022.