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Viapath Analytics - Bedford Hospital
Viapath Bedford Pathology User Guide
BED-USER-14
Pathology Department
Andrology Service
In order to enable improvements to the Andrology Service the Cellular Pathology department
at Bedford Hospital NHS Trust operates an appointment system for its Infertility semen
sample analysis.
From September 2014, the Infertility semen analysis service runs between the hours of
08:30 and 10:00 Monday to Wednesday by appointment only.
How to book an appointment:
Send a pathology request form, clearly stating “semen analysis for infertility” to:
Appointments Office, Administration and Clerical Office, Viapath, Bedford Hospital, Kempston
Rd, Bedford MK42 9DJ.
Please ensure the correct and full patient address is included on the request form.
On receipt of the form, the laboratory will post a patient information sheet and sample pot to
the patient and will allocate the next available appointment date, but allowing a fortnight for
delivery of the information. A contact telephone number will be provided to allow the patient
to rearrange the appointment date if it is inconvenient. The patient may bring the sample to
the laboratory at any time between 08:30 and 10:00 on the appointed date. The sample
should be delivered within 30-45 minutes of production. Please note that there are NO
facilities on-site for sample production.
Following analysis if all values are within reference ranges then no further appointments will
be issued by the laboratory. If any values are outside reference ranges in the first sample
then the laboratory will request a second sample and send a second information sheet and
pot to the patient. Once the second sample has been examined and a report issued the
laboratory will not request any further samples.
If a patient fails to attend:
A letter will be sent to the requesting clinician and we would ask that contact is made with
the patient to ascertain the reason for the non-attendance. If the test is still required please
send a repeat request to the laboratory at the above address.
If you have any questions regarding the provision of the Andrology service please contact
the appointments office, Viapath on (01234) 792149
Advice for patients:
Please ensure that adequate instruction is given to the patient on production of the semen
specimen. The date & time of specimen collection must be recorded on the request
form and specimen container.
Semen specimens must be delivered to the laboratory within 30-45 mins of production
as these samples deteriorate rapidly and results will be impaired, particularly the
motility assessment. Please note that there are NO facilities on the Hospital site
suitable for the production of semen samples.
Please ensure patients are reminded of the importance of writing the date & time of
specimen production on the request card and specimen container before delivery to the
laboratory in addition to general information required for labelling specimen containers and
request cards. The patients are asked to remain in the pathology specimen reception area
File Name: BED-USER-14 Viapath Bedford Pathology User Guide
Author: A. Strong
Authorised: G. Nicholson
Version: 5.5
Issue Date: 30/04/2015
Page 84 of 99