What are blood testing laboratories?
Samples of blood are sent to laboratories to be examined and tested with chemicals in order to identify disease causing pathogens. Certain healthcare providers can have an in-house testing laboratory so that they can rapidly test blood samples, allowing for patients to receive quick results.
Blood test results can provide diagnostic information on the overall health of a person, and the levels of substances in the blood and body, which can influence how treatment is guided, and how conditions are diagnosed.
Every laboratory must follow a difficult internal and external quality control process, which checks the accuracy, reliability, and how comparable their blood test results are to other testing facilities.
The Role of Accreditation Bodies
Accreditation bodies are independent organisations that provide assessments of the competence and performance of testing laboratories, based on internationally recognised standards. We are registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), ensuring that we provide the best care and service to all of our patients.
Compliance with Regulations
Blood testing laboratories situated in the UK are subject to regulations and laws, including:
- The Care Quality Commission (CQC), which regulates and inspects healthcare providers, including diagnostic laboratories, this ensures that these services meet the standard of quality and safety that are required.
- The Human Tissue Act 2004: This act regulates the use, storage, and disposal of human tissue and organs that are taken for research and clinical purposes.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): GDPR governs the collection, processing, and storage of any personal data, which includes medical information.
- The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which oversees safety, quality, and efficacy of medical devices, with diagnostic tests being included.
- We also adhere to the Royal College of Pathologists guidelines on specimen retention and storage.
The health and care professions council (HCPC) regulate the scientific and professional proficiency of all Biomedical scientists on their register. It is a legal requirement to be registered with the HCPC in order to practice in the profession.
Quality Management Systems
To keep accreditation, laboratories should regularly perform internal quality management of their services, this usually involves a set of policies, procedures, and controls designed to ensure that testing is performed with the upmost quality, accuracy, and consistency, and that any issues are promptly managed, identified, and addressed. Quality management systems cover all aspects of the laboratory and its operations, from sample collections, to storage, and reporting of the results.
External Quality Assessment
Further assessments can be carried out from external sources, typically by the regulator, these tests verify the accuracy and reliability of laboratories testing methods, blood testing labs in particular participate in EQA schemes. EQA is a process in which a third-party provider sends anonymized samples to be tested. The lab then carries out tests like normal, and reports the results back to the provider, who compares them to the expected values. This process helps to identify any potential biases, errors, or deviations for standard procedures and regulations, laboratories are expected to take corrective action immediately, if necessary.
Will Blood Test Results differ between laboratories?
Results of blood tests can vary slightly between different laboratories, one reason can be due to their analysis process having some form of variation, for example variations in testing equipment used although this must be regulated within each laboratory by performance of a validation study. This will ensure that variability is within the expected ranges for the particular biomarker of interest.
Furthermore, as with all blood tests, there can be changes within the body that can have an impact on blood test results, certain hormones and other biomarkers can fluctuate throughout the day. For example, testosterone levels in men are higher in the morning compared to night, this means that test results targeting testosterone can vary depending on the time of day the test is conducted.
Other factors to consider are variations such as, the time it takes to reach the laboratory, the temperature of the environment, and the how much blood is collected, although, these changes are often minor in nature and do not severely impact results. All results must be interpreted in line with clinical symptoms as good practice.
Our Blood Tests:
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General well-being blood test
This wellbeing screen is a panel of multiple tests to give an indication of overall wellbeing. Monitoring can help indicate the body's response to changes such as the initiation of a new fitness regime or weight loss or gain plan.
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Advanced iron deficiency (Anaemia) test
The advanced anaemia screen includes tests for haemoglobin levels and a full blood count. The results of these tests can show whether you have any signs of general health problems, as well as giving an indication of your overall blood health.
View more details£60.00
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Allergy test
This FastPoc allergy test checks your blood for 20 common allergies, including ragweed, mugwort, grass, rye, birch, ficus/latex, cat dander, dog dander, dust mites, egg white, cow's milk and much more...
View more details£192.00
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B12 Vitamin injections – Out of stock
B12 hydroxocobalamin vitamin injections
View more details£23.00
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Bioma – Immucura Dendritic Cell Therapy Referral
Bioma is working with Immucura to deliver innovative cancer therapy.
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Blood draw only
Blood draw only by a qualified phlebotomist.
View more details£35.00
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Cholesterol test
Cholesterol test measures blood cholesterol levels. Early intervention can help those with family history of heart disease or high cholesterol. Routine screening can determine risk of artery plaque build-up.
View more details£60.00
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Clotting blood test
Clotting blood test measures coagulation time. Prothrombin time (INR) tests how long it takes for a clot to form. Assesses Warfarin effectiveness, diagnoses unusual coagulation and severe bleeding, liver function abnormalities. Can be paired with full blood count for extra info.
View more details£200.00
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