Consent and Protection of Personal Information

When visiting the hospital or your GP as a patient, your doctor may advise you to have some laboratory tests performed.

Samples may be collected from you, for example blood and tissue, or you may be provided with a container and asked to provide the sample yourself for example urine or faeces.

Your doctor or nurse will explain the process of obtaining the samples and the need for these tests.

Your samples will then be sent to the pathology department where they will either be tested or sent on to another accredited laboratory for testing. The results will be returned to your doctor and used to help him/her to make a diagnosis and/or follow your progress after any treatment.

If your sample is sent to another laboratory, it will be necessary to share your personal details and the sample itself.

It is important for your health care that you agree to these tests. Most times a verbal agreement is sufficient. At other times, for example, when a biopsy is to be taken, you will be asked to sign a consent form.

When all the tests that your doctor has requested have been completed, there may be some of your specimen left, this will either be thrown away or stored for future testing according to guidelines from the Royal College of Pathologists.

On some occasions, we would like to anonymously use left over specimens for teaching or to ensure the accuracy of laboratory equipment or systems in the laboratory.

If your left-over specimen was to be used in this way your name would be removed. However sometimes it will be necessary to retain some information, for example, your age and sex. In either case no one would be able to trace the specimen back to you and its use would not alter your treatment in anyway.

Please tell your doctor/nurse if you do not wish your left over specimen to be used in this way. Your wishes will be recorded on the request form accompanying your tests.

If the procedure to collect your specimen requires you to sign a consent form there is a specific section for you to record your wishes.

This use of left over specimen is different from any specific research or clinical trials, which your doctor may have discussed.

We can ensure the ongoing availability and integrity of retained patient samples and records in the event of closure, acquisition or merger of the laboratory of Pathology at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals close within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Network.