The James Cook University Hospital
Services available at The James Cook University Hospital include:
- Histology (including andrology specimens)
- Neuropathology
- Cytology (non-gynaecological specimens only)
- Mortuary
Friarage Hospital
Services available at the Friarage Hospital include:
- Histology
- Cytology (non-gynaecological, post vas and infertility samples)
- Mortuary
UKAS accreditation
South Tees Pathology Service (excluding the Andrology Service) is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory (No. 9210) to the ISO15189:2012 standards for medical laboratories.
Our accreditation is limited to those activities described on our UKAS schedule of accreditation.
Working hours
Full details of the working hours for all areas of cellular pathology can be found on the locations and core hours page.
Sample requirements and reporting
Please note:
- Three points of patient identification are required on both the specimen container and the request form.
- Two points of identification are required on any slides sent to the laboratory.
- Location and consultant must be on the request form.
- Specimen type and clinical details must be on the request form.
- Verbal requests for tests are not accepted.
Failure to do this may result in delays in diagnosis while the specimen is returned to source.
We aim to report the majority of specimens in-house but cases may be referred off site for a number of reasons:
- Where the consultant reporting a case feels that it is sufficiently rare, difficult or unusual to warrant an external expert opinion.
- Where there is a network requirement for review of a cancer diagnosis.
- Where the patient is discussed by a specialist or network multi-disciplinary team as part of agreed network practice.
- Where the patient is referred between locality and specialist teams in the network for treatment (or diagnostic) purposes and review of existing pathological material is requested or forms part of agreed network practice.
- Where the requested test is not included in the department repertoire (for example HER2 testing).
- Diagnostic reporting to maintain turnaround times.
Clinical advice
A consultant pathologist or senior scientist is available for urgent reporting or urgent queries during normal working hours.
Clinical advice is available from a consultant histopathologist on test selection and interpretation for histology, neuropathology, gynae and non-gynae cytology samples.
Enquiries should be directed via the secretarial staff, on extension 54123, who should be able to put you in contact with the relevant consultant histopathologist.
The directorate provides a technical service for the examination of semen infertility and post vasectomy samples.
Clinical advice is available from a clinical embryologist in the department of reproductive medicine at James Cook extension 54856.