Mortuary

A Coroners and hospital postmortem service is available at RSH. For more information, please contact Bereavement services.

---

Availability of results

The results of specimens originating at RSH & PRH will be available electronically on Review and Clinical Portal once results have been authorised. Results from specimens received from general practitioners are available electronically or by printed copy.

---

Departmental turnaround times

All material received for histological and cytological examination is reported or reviewed by a Consultant Pathologist or BMS Reporter.  The department’s aim is to report 70% of all samples received within 7 days and 80% received within 10 calendar days.

---

Specimen collection, storage and transport

Histology and cytology specimens should be collected and handled with care ‘Fixation’ of histology specimens in 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin is required to enable histology diagnosis and should not be delayed.

Histology Request Form Described

---

Specimen containers

All Histology containers are pre-filled with 10% formalin fixative. A range of sizes is available to suit all specimen types. Sample containers can be obtained by contacting Pathology Stores.

---

Specimen fixation

With the exception of frozen sections (which must be pre-arranged) and tissue for Immunofluorescence studies, all specimens must be immersed in 10% formalin as soon as possible after removal. And kept at room temperature but should be dispatched to the laboratory as soon as possible.

Should a specimen be too large for a container, please contact the laboratory for advice. In the event of a large formalin spillage please contact the laboratory for advice and/or assistance. The telephone number is 01743261168

Specimens in white formalin buckets should be transported from theatres in kegs or white transport boxes (from PRH) or theatre trolley from RSH. Yellow-topped prefilled formalin pots may be transported in large white specimen bags.

---

Special requests

The following services are available during normal working hours, but 24 hours’ notice is required to ensure the appropriate staff are available to handle the sample.  Please contact the laboratory 01743 261000 ext 1168 for any of the following:

Renal biopsy

Contact the laboratory for the process of renal biopsies. 01743 261000ext: 1168 directly so we can collect as soon as possible.

The specimen is required to arrive at the laboratory within an hour of the procedure.

Frozen sections

Frozen section requests can be made via email to the histology secretaries, Lead BMS or by phone to the laboratory on 01743261168

Skin biopsy

Formalin-fixed and fresh tissue is required for bullous skin diseases. Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) kits are available from the laboratory. These contain a request form, a container containing Michel medium, a formalin container, specimen bag and delivery receipt.

Cytology

Electronic requesting is now available for cytology requests, but the yellow Cytology request forms held on the wards will still be accepted in the Lab. The criteria for accepting requests for non-gynaecological requests are the same as that for Histology requests. If the request is urgent, the request form should include the bleep number of the requestor.

High-risk samples

If the sample is high-risk, this should be clearly stated on the request form.

---

Special stains and immunohistochemistry

The Histopathology Department has a repertoire of special stains and immunohistochemistry protocols used in the diagnosis of various diseases and conditions Please contact the laboratory for information on these. 01743 261000 ext 1168

---

Second opinions/reference laboratories

In some cases that are more difficult to diagnose, it may be necessary for them to be sent away to an external expert for second opinion or to a regional reference laboratory.

---

Non-gynaecological cytology specimens

The majority of non-gynae samples are collected at the hospital and smaller numbers at GP Surgeries. Fine need aspirates (FNA), sputum, bronchial lavage, mid-stream urine, and other fluids. Due to these samples being fresh or preserved but not fixed, it is imperative that they are not batched and should be transferred to the RSH Cytology laboratory as soon as possible to avoid degradation of the sample integrity. Non-gynae fluid samples must be collected in in sterile universal pots following the same labelling criteria as described above. All samples must be sent to the laboratory with an accompanying sample request form.

Please note that if samples are collected outside of laboratory working hours it is advisable to store them between 2-8ºC until the next laboratory working day.

Please contact the laboratory should advice be required for optimal FNA preparation 01743 261000 ext 1168.

Glass slides and plastic slide containers are distributed from the laboratory; please call 01743261168 to request items and ensure they are ready before coming to collect.

If you are sending both histology and cytology samples on the same patient, we require separate request forms for both samples.

---

Disposal

10% formalin containers containing expired formalin should be returned to the lab for safe disposal and should be clearly labelled FOR DISPOSAL