The Cellular Pathology Department is comprised of histopathology, diagnostic cytology and mortuary services.

The Department serves Hampshire Hospital Foundation Trust sites and also primary care across Hampshire. Our hub site is based at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, with a smaller spoke site at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital. The Department is UKAS accredited to ISO 15189:2012, for our scope of accreditation see 8082 Medical Multiple (ukas.com).

The laboratory participates in national external quality assurance schemes and is accredited for training with the Institute of Biomedical Science and registration with the Health Care Professions Council and the Royal College of Pathologists.

A team of scientific, technical, support and administrative staff work to receive and prepare patient samples for diagnosis. For a video of this process see (393) HHFT Cellular Pathology Tour Video - YouTube. Further information on roles within our team and careers are included below.

External reference laboratories are used for specialist tests needed to support a local primary diagnosis.

Consultant Histopathologists produce diagnostic reports and support clinical service users in managing patients who require treatment. Autopsy Pathologists and Anatomical Pathology Technologists support the Coroner in establishing cause-of-death where a post-mortem examination is required at one of our two Human Tissue Authority-licensed mortuaries.

For further information on which services are provided by the department and how to obtain these, see our Pathology User Handbook.