The Doctors Laboratory

Updated 25 May 2022

The Doctors Laboratory is a provider of clinical laboratory diagnostic services, this means they process tests taken at hospitals and other health care settings and provide the results. They test blood samples, tissue samples or other bodily product samples. The service also provides specialist support for other laboratories and for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research. The service also issues blood and blood products to the NHS and private sector.

The Doctors Laboratory has been registered with CQC since 2018 and has a registered manager in place to oversee the service. This service had not previously been inspected by CQC. The service had a central hub that was the registered location and a further 13 satellite locations across England.

The service has contracts with many NHS and private health care providers to provide their medical laboratory needs. They do not accept private requests from members of the public.

Laboratory tests funded by the NHS must be accredited against a set of standards called ISO 1518. The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is recognised by the government as the sole national accreditation body and once tests are accredited, there are annual surveillance activities and full re-assessment every 4th year.

In addition, all laboratories must participate in an external quality assurance (EQA) scheme that advises providers of their quality assurance results and how their results compare with other laboratories. This aspect of the service was not inspected.

Updated 25 May 2022

We did not rate this service. We found:

• The service had enough staff to provide the right level of service. Staff had training in key skills and managed safety well. The service controlled cross contamination risk well. Staff assessed risks and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• The service was planned to meet the needs of local people and made it easy for people to give feedback.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with other healthcare providers to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 25 May 2022

We did not rate this service. See the summary above for what we found.