Where can I get my pathology done?

Most private GPs send samples to a private laboratory under a clinician account. Common names include Nationwide Pathology, The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) and Randox, and some NHS trust pathology services take private work too. There is no single right choice: compare test menus, collection from your postcode, results delivery and price, and check accreditation before you sign up.

Your options for private GP pathology

Private laboratories

Most private GPs use a private laboratory. Examples include The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), Randox and laboratories linked to private hospital groups. They typically offer:

• a clinician account with a test directory and price list
• request forms or online ordering, and sample packs
• courier collection from your premises, or drop-off points
• results through an online portal, by secure email or directly into some record systems
• in some cases, their own phlebotomy or patient reception sites. TDL, for example, runs a patient reception in London.

Compare several. Test menus, turnaround times, courier coverage and prices differ, especially outside large cities.

Nationwide Pathology: what it is and who it serves

Nationwide Pathology Limited is a private commercial pathology laboratory. Despite the name, it is not part of the NHS. Companies House lists it as an active company, incorporated in November 2010, with its registered office at Lubenham, near Market Harborough in Leicestershire.

At the time of review:

• Accreditation. UKAS accredits it to ISO 15189:2022 under accreditation number 7983. The current schedule (issue 21, July 2026) covers biochemistry, virology and serology, haematology and molecular testing at its Lubenham laboratory. Check the schedule for the specific tests you order.
• CQC. It is a CQC-registered provider. The CQC lists its current Lubenham location as not yet inspected, and its previous site’s inspection record is archived.
• Services. Its website says it offers over 1,000 tests, a 24-hour turnaround, testing six days a week, phlebotomy across the UK, pre-paid sample collection kits, a secure online results portal and an out-of-hours service.
• Who it serves. It lists private GPs among its clients, alongside occupational health providers, insurance medical providers, sexual health testing providers and professional sports clubs.

Whether it suits your practice depends on the same checks as any lab: how samples get from your premises to Leicestershire and by when, real turnaround times from your postcode, how results reach your record system, its price list and who it phones with an urgent result. Ask for its clinician account terms and compare them with at least one other lab.

Other private laboratories

• The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) is a medically led laboratory based in London. Clinicians can view results through its eViewPlus portal, and it runs a patient reception for phlebotomy at 76 Wimpole Street.
• Randox Health offers health tests for individuals and in-clinic testing, and lists pathology services for professionals and organisations.

NHS trust laboratories

NHS pathology in England is organised into regional networks, and some trust labs accept private work. Contact the pathology service manager at your local trust or network and ask whether they take requests from private providers, how to mark forms as private, how samples should reach them and how they invoice. The answer varies from place to place. The same approach is worth trying with health boards in Scotland and Wales and trusts in Northern Ireland.

What to check before you sign up

Check	Why it matters
UKAS ISO 15189 accreditation	The standard for medical laboratories. You can search UKAS’s directory for the lab and the tests it covers.
CQC registration	In England, the CQC says a laboratory company that examines your samples must register in its own right.
Test menu and turnaround	Make sure it covers what you order most, and ask for real turnaround times from your postcode.
Collection	Courier days and cut-off times, weekend cover, and what happens to samples taken late on a Friday.
Results delivery	Portal, secure email or electronic results into your record system. Paper and email create more manual work and more risk of missed results.
Urgent results	Who the lab phones with a critical result, and how it reaches you out of hours.
Pricing and billing	Whether the lab invoices you monthly or the patient directly, and any minimum spend.

Setting up an account

1. Shortlist two or three labs that collect from your area, and ask each for its clinician account terms, test directory and price list.
2. Expect to give your professional and practice details. Start this early, alongside your regulator registration, so the account is ready when you open.
3. Agree how you will request tests and receive results, and connect the lab to your record system if it supports that.
4. Walk through the full loop before your first patient: request, sample, packaging, collection, result, review and telling the patient.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, your own service registers with HIS, HIW or RQIA rather than the CQC. Ask any lab outside England about its accreditation and registration in the same way.

Taking and sending samples

In England, if you are registered with the CQC for another regulated activity, the CQC treats taking blood or urine samples and taking swabs as part of that registration. You don’t need a separate registration for diagnostic and screening procedures just for that.

Decide who will take blood: you, a nurse or healthcare assistant, or the lab’s own phlebotomy service. Include training, sharps disposal and a clinical waste contract in your plans.

Samples sent by post or courier must be packed to UN3373 (Biological substance, Category B): a leak-proof primary container with absorbent material, a leak-proof secondary container, and outer packaging marked with the UN3373 diamond. Your lab will usually supply compliant packs. Put the request form between the secondary and outer packaging.

Managing results safely

Results are one of the main risk points in private practice, especially if you work part-time. Before your first request, set up:

1. A tracking system so every request is matched to a result, and missing results are chased.
2. A review standard, for example all results reviewed within one working day, with cover when you are away.
3. An urgent result route. Give the lab a phone number that reaches a clinician, and agree what happens when you are unavailable.
4. Telling the patient. Agree at the consultation how and when they will hear, including normal results.
5. Sharing with the NHS GP where it affects ongoing care, with the patient’s consent. See sending notes to the NHS GP.

Record systems that receive results electronically into the patient’s record make tracking easier. See how to choose a record system.

Charging for tests

Many private GPs pass lab costs on to patients, either at cost, with a handling fee or within a package price. Make the price clear before you take the sample. See charging for pathology and tests.