Information

Health and Safety

The Microbiology Laboratory complies with all current Health and Safety requirements and will continue to implement policies to ensure the safety of the staff and working environment.

 Information Technology

The information system used by the laboratory is the Isoft Telepath (Cache) product. All clinical requests and reports are processed by this system.

Accessing Laboratory Results

National and regional communicable disease reporting is automated from the laboratory system using the PHE SGSS (Second Generation Surveillance System).

 Quality

Accreditation

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Public Health Laboratory Birmingham is accredited by UKAS to ISO 15189:2012. Our UKAS registration number is 8213 and our Schedule of Accreditation can be viewed via the UKAS website www.ukas.com

Quality Assurance

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Public Health Laboratory Birmingham always aims to give a high quality service. Our quality assurance systems including controls, internal assurance and external assessments, ensure the accuracy and reliability of test results and any anomalies or non-conformances are investigated.

The laboratory participates in external quality assessment schemes which cover the accredited repertoire of tests performed by the laboratory. Feedback from users is welcomed and reviewed regularly. Please direct any feedback on the service to the laboratory manager.

Feedback or comments about the service are appreciated and should be directed to the laboratory manager.

 Continuing Professional Development and Training

• The Microbiology laboratory provides training and educational opportunities for all its staff and is fully committed to their development. The aspirations and personal development plans of each individual are identified by annual appraisal.

• All consultant medical microbiologists and virologists and state-registered clinical scientists participate in the continuing professional development (CPD) scheme of the Royal College of Pathologists. CPD is compulsory for biomedical scientists and all qualified staff are encouraged to participate in the CPD programme of the IBMS.

• Microbiology laboratory offers training in both microbiology and virology to specialist registrars on the regional training programme towards membership of the Royal College of Pathologists. Specialist registrars in infectious diseases and public health medicine are regularly given placements. From 2005, junior doctors at Foundation level 2 will be given training in microbiology and virology.

• The laboratory is approved by the HCPC for training of Biomedical Scientists in bacteriology and virology and fully supports the PHE Clinical Scientist training scheme. An ongoing training programme supports staff studying for academic and managerial qualifications and attending specialist technical courses, workshops and meetings.

• Short-term placements and update secondments in both microbiology and virology are encouraged for all grades of staff and can be arranged by discussion with the Clinical Lead or Laboratory Manager.