Request Forms

Samples sent to the laboratory must be accompanied by an assay request form (obtainable from our Administration Department), from the website (www.cslabs.co.uk) or details may be written on headed paper. To ensure the integrity of patient identification in the report, we request that the sample tube(s) be labelled very clearly and that dynamic tests have details of sample order or times as appropriate.

Sample Collection Procedures

Special sample preparation is not required for most of the tests but please refer to the request forms, information sheets or the table at the back of this booklet for specific details. Courier services are available for special samples (ACTH/PTH/PTHrP/Renin/Gastrin/Glucagon)

Sample Dispatch

Samples must be packed according to the current regulations for shipment of Diagnostic Specimens (a copy is available if required). Pre-paid address labels are available free of charge on request.

Sample Results

All sample results are reported by fax and/or email, and can be posted by first class post by special request. Urgent results can be obtained by telephoning the laboratory 8.30 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday. An answer machine operates out of hours for any messages.

Turnaround Time

Not all assays are run every day. Some are performed only twice weekly and certain low demand assays are run less often. The complexity of the high quality techniques we use can require long incubation times and numerous calibration and control samples necessitating the need to batch analyses to keep them affordable. An assay schedule is available on request but subject to change. Urgent requests can be analysed “off-schedule” but this incurs a STAT (x2) charge.

SI units

It is the policy of the laboratory to report results in Systeme International (SI) units. A list of conversion factors for commonly measured analytes is provided as Appendix I.

Reference Ranges

A reference range list is available on request. Reference ranges are subject to revision if methods change; please refer to the sample test report for the current reference range(s).