At our Pathology department, we carry out examinations on bodily tissues and fluids to determine the cause and nature of diseases.
Kingston Hospital is, along with St George’s Hospital and Croydon Hospitals, part of South West London Pathology. You can find out more about the service here.
If you require a blood test, this can be arranged at your GP practice or through outpatients when you visit the hospital. The results will be sent to your doctor or hospital consultant.
Cellular Pathology
We examine cells, either from tissues or fluids, to determine whether or not a patient has a disease.
Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology
This area of pathology focuses on the analysis of bodily fluids, mostly serum or plasma. We carry out a wide variety of tests in the following categories:
- General or routine chemistry: Blood examinations such as liver and kidney function tests
- Special chemistry: More specialised procedures such as electrophoresis and manual testing
- Toxicology: The study of drugs and other chemicals
- Therapeutic drug monitoring: Measurements of medications in blood to ensure you get the right dosage
- Urinalysis: Testing urine for a wide range of diseases, as well as fluids such as CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) and effusions
- Fecal analysis: Usually to detect gastrointestinal disorders
Our Immunology laboratory carries out tests to identify:
- Allergy
- Auto immunity
- Immunodeficiency
Haematology
We carry out routine and urgent automated blood tests.
Routine haematology tests include:
- Full blood count and blood film
- Coagulation screening
- Monitoring of oral anticoagulants
- Haematinic assay
- Haemoglobinopathy screening and investigation
Blood transfusion tests include:
- Pre-transfusion blood group and antibody screening
- Antenatal blood group and antibody screening
- Cross-matching and issuing compatible blood components
- Investigation of transfusion reactions
- Investigation of haematological disorders, including specialist tests and bone marrow biopsies, are available by contacting the duty consultant haematologist
Microbiology
Here we focus mainly on cultures to look for suspected pathogens such as viruses and parasites. There are four specialist areas we investigate at Kingston Hospital:
- Serology: Identifying viruses in samples of blood, urine and CSF
- Parasitology: Identifying parasites, usually in faeces
- Mycology: Looks for fungi that may cause disease
- Infection Control: We look at factors relating to the spread of infections, especially within a health-care setting
Samples can be delivered directly to the Pathology Reception at Kingston Hospital or Queen Mary’s Hospital on Monday to Friday between 08.30 and 17.00.
Patient contact information
Tel: 020 8934 2052
For GP practices:
Histopathology: 020 8934 2239
Biochemistry and Haematology: 020 8934 2052
Transfusion: 020 8934 2046
Immunology: 020 8725 0025
Microbiology: 020 8725 5693