We provide pathology (lab test) services for UHSussex hospitals, for GPs and other community-based primary care services. These tests provide information about your health, which is used to help in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.
Patient information
Pathology includes a number of departments:
- Haematology, including blood transfusion
- Biochemistry (also known as chemical pathology)
- Immunology
- Microbiology and infection, including virology
- Cellular pathology
If you would like to find out more about what the different departments do, please see LabTestOnLineUK.
Blood tests
If you need a blood test your GP or other healthcare provide will tell you how to arrange it. You might have to make an appointment at your GP’s surgery or health centre, or at one of our hospitals’ phlebotomy clinics.
If you are having a blood test as part of your hospital outpatient appointment, please visit our blood test services on where to go.
Other samples
Your healthcare provider may ask you to provide other types of sample for testing, such as urine or faeces (poo). Please follow any instructions you are given about how to provide the sample and where to return it.
If you are asked to bring a sample to the laboratory yourself, please remember to bring the request form with it.
It is also very important to label samples. This means first name, surname, date of birth, and the date you collected the sample. Without this we might not be able to process the sample and you could have to repeat the test.
Within microbiology, biomedical scientists run scientific tests to support the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Peek into our lab and see what happens to a blood sample when it is sent to microbiology for a ‘blood culture’ – a test that checks for bacteria.
Results
Your results are sent to the service that requested the test (e.g. hospital clinic, GP surgery).
The time taken to do laboratory tests varies. Please follow your healthcare provider’s advice on when to expect your results.
About your lab tests
If you want to find out more about laboratory tests we recommend LabTestsOnLineUK. This is a website aimed at patients and designed to help you understand why lab tests are done, what results mean, and how they are used.
Patient feedback
Please help us improve our service by letting us know about your experience at our Pathology departments – Phlebotomy, Central Stores, Specimen Reception, Haematology, Blood Transfusion, Chemistry and Immunology, Cellular Pathology, Microbiology and Mortuary by completing a feedback survey.
Sample reception open hours
Royal Sussex County Hospital
Our pathology lab is located one floor above A&E, on level 6 of the tower block.
Monday to Friday
8:00 am to 7:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Princess Royal Hospital
Monday to Friday
8:30 am to 6:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday
8:30 am to 12:00 pm
St Richard's Hospital
Pathology is on the 1st Floor of the Outpatients block.
Monday – Friday
8:00 am to 4:45 pm
Worthing Hospital
Pathology is on the 1st Floor of the North Wing.
Monday to Friday
8:30 am to 4:45 pm
Southlands Hospital
The pathology department is located in bay 4, outpatients department.
Monday to Thursday
9:00 am to 4:45 pm
Friday
9:00 am to 1:00 pm