Question reference: S5W-13542
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 19 December 2017
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 January 2018
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS take blood/saliva tests results provided by private laboratories into account when providing a clinical diagnosis, and if so, what criteria these laboratories must meet.
Answer
Front-line diagnostic testing is undertaken in local laboratories attached to NHS hospitals and clinics. They process samples (blood cultures, wound swabs, urines, sputa etc.) taken directly from patients by NHS health professionals. Health Protection Scotland has responsibility for the commissioning of Reference Laboratory Services, which provide support to NHS Scotland in guiding the clinical management of individual patients.
It is a clinical decision whether to accept other results such as those obtained from private or overseas laboratories but they would usually be repeated if required.
The system of Clinical Pathology Accreditation is run by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) and inspects laboratories on a regular basis. This is a very thorough review of the processes in each pathology discipline undertaken by that laboratory and is done to international standards (ISO 15189 medical laboratories). There is an expectation that all laboratories, whether they are part of the NHS or private, comply with these standards.