PATHOLOGY

Pathology is a medical specialty about the study and causes of disease and is integral to the diagnosis of every cancer.

Pathologists can also examine changes in tissue, blood and other bodily fluid samples to gain an understanding of the potential for disease development, the cause or severity of disease and/or to monitor the progress of disease, effectiveness of treatment and your general health.

Whilst our outpatient service is called ‘Pathology’ our pathology nurses also offer a range of other services to support our patients, not just blood and specimen collection.

The Outpatient Pathology Clinic provides:

• blood collection
• blood taking from a central venous access device
• central venous access device dressing and cap change
• cannulation
• ECG
• port access/flush

If you require pathology, your specialist will organize a referral for you.

You do not have to have an appointment to come to the outpatient pathology. Simply take a coloured card depending on the type of test you are having, to help staff see you as quickly and efficiently as possible.

If you are coming to the outpatient pathology to have a test, your doctor will either organize for a pathology slip to be sent to outpatient pathology or will give you a pathology slip to take with you.If your doctor has given you a pathology slip, please bring this with you when you come to outpatient pathology so the pathology nurses know what type and how much of each specimen they need to collect, and the pathologists which know which analysis your doctor requires