Hours:

Full service:0800 - 1700 Monday to Friday.

Restricted service: at all other times, including Public Holidays.

Enquiries:

The Clinical Microbiologists or a Registrar are always available by telephone or locator.

Restricted Service:

Provided by reduced level of staff.

Specimens processed automatically:

Blood Culture

CSF

Aspirated fluids (incl. dialysis fluids)

Urines from ED, APU, NICU, WAU, CED and, PICU.

Any other specimen which has been discussed and approved by the on-call Microbiologist.

Other specimens sent which are not covered by the above may be processed if time permits. They will otherwise be refrigerated until the next morning, processed if applicable, or the ward notified and the specimen discarded.

Communication:

Any telephone communication or personal contact from the clinical staff about requests or results is welcomed.

Microbiology Specimens and their Transport:

THE QUALITY OF RESULTS DEPENDS ON THE QUALITY OF THE SPECIMEN.

Guidelines for Collection

For notes on collection of specimens - refer to individual test listing

Avoid contamination with commensal flora.

If possible collect specimens prior to starting antibiotic therapy.

Label all specimens carefully.

Request Forms

Processing and reporting depend entirely on information supplied.

Use a Microbiology request form and give:

Full relevant clinical particulars.

Full patient identification.

Exact identity of specimen and site of collect.

Any current, recent or proposed antibiotic therapy.

Date and time of collection.

For medico-legal reasons, incorrectly labelled or unidentifiable specimens cannot be processed.

Specimen Transport

To ensure that special and urgent specimens reach the Microbiology laboratory quickly, where you do not have access to the vacuum tube system, either transport the specimen yourself, or ask a nurse to take it to the laboratory for you.
In general non-urgent specimens, collected out of normal hours can be safely refrigerated until next day.

Contact information

Key contacts

Clinical Head - Dr. Sally Roberts

Scientist Unit Manager - Mary Bilkey

For further information, contact the Microbiology Department via Lablink or the Clinical Microbiologist:

Lablink contact details

Dr Sally Roberts , Microbiologist: ext 22705 Cellphone 021 674 140
Dr Sharmini Muttaiyah , Microbiologist: ext 22700 Cellphone 021 615 892
Dr Mary de Almeida , Microbiologist: ext 22700 Cellphone 021 170 9117

Dr Matthew Blakiston , Microbiologist: contact via Lablink

Dr Veronica Playle , Microbiologist: contact via Lablink

Last updated at 07:47:05 03/03/2023