Infection Sciences Laboratory at Princess Royal University Hospital

Laboratory overview

There is no on-site Infection Sciences laboratory at Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH). Limited local diagnostic support is provided through blood culture testing using the BD Bactec FX system and rapid molecular testing using the Cepheid GeneXpert platform. These systems are based within the Blood Sciences laboratories and are operated by Blood Sciences staff, supporting rapid incubation, detection and initial testing.

The BD Bactec FX system enables detection of bacterial and fungal growth from blood cultures, while the Cepheid platform supports rapid qualitative testing for selected targets.

All further microbiology, virology and specialist investigations, including organism identification, susceptibility testing, molecular assays and sequencing, are performed by the central Infection Sciences Hub, ensuring access to comprehensive diagnostics, specialist expertise and standardised workflows across the network.

For full accreditation details and access to the  User Handbook, please refer to the Infection Sciences Homepage and click on the Virology or Microbiology at Blackfriars Hub page