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4 How many of us have had a blood sample taken in hospital or at our GP? Have you ever wondered where your patients’ blood samples go after they are taken? Many of us may not realise the part that laboratory staff play in the diagnosis. NHS Tayside’s Haematology Department is only a part of the larger department of Blood Sciences, which also includes Biochemistry, Immunology and Bowel Screening at Ninewells as well as Haematology, Biochemistry and Blood Transfusion at Perth Royal Infirmary. When the samples arrive at the lab, the first point of contact is specimen reception, from where the samples are distributed to the correct department within Blood Sciences, with routine work being placed onto an automated tracking system. Haematology itself is then split into three sections: core, specialist and immunophenotyping. Core Haematology Core haematology at Ninewells is extremely automated and receives around 3,500 samples per day. The routine tests performed are the full blood count, coagulation screen and blood film morphology. These tests are used to screen for haematological abnormalities, allowing the biomedical scientists to further investigate and/or alert the requesting doctors. The range of tasks the staff undertake include ensuring analysers are correctly maintained to produce reliable results, interpreting and validating results, and adding on tests, in addition to a plethora of other tasks which ensure that the lab can function 24/7. Haematology Laboratory Spotlight on... Ninewells team