Screening

Screening enables the identification of apparently healthy people, who unknown to them, may be at increased risk of a disease or condition, facilitating earlier intervention through treatment or better-informed decisions such as lifestyle changes.  The primary objective of screening is early detection and when combined with effective intervention leads to better health outcomes.  The value of screening tests therefore is in their ability to help identify individuals in the population who should have additional tests performed on them to determine whether they have a particular disease condition or not. 

Sheffield Laboratory Medicine is home to several national screening tests that support sexual health services, antenatal clinics, prison drugs of abuse programmes, Public Health England screening programmes, NHS and private healthcare providers.  Our toxicology laboratory can support programmes of rehabilitation through drugs of abuse and prison screening services. 

Our Specialist Haematology Laboratory performs screening tests for haemoglobinopathies such as thalassemias.  Coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease screening tests are performed in Microbiology.  Histology laboratory screens include cervical abnormalities and many more.

Additionally, our prenatal testing services support antenatal clinics.  All our laboratories have specialist staff with many years of experience in screening services.  We consistently meet national screening quality assurance service standards and continue to contribute to reducing the incidence and mortality from these conditions.

Our specialist laboratories are equipped with the latest bespoke technologies which delivers accurate and reliable results.  Our team of trained, experienced and expert scientist and medical professionals are always available to provide guidance in order to meet your requirements.

Screening tests only serve as an indicator to identify individuals who may have the disease and so the confirmatory testing will still be required before diagnosis is made.  As a ‘one-stop-shop’, Sheffield Laboratory Medicine provides confirmation tests for various screening services performed in our laboratories with the added benefit of saving on specimens, time and money.

If you would like to know more about how we can help you, please contact us by telephone on 0114 226 7666 or email us at sth.labmed@nhs.net.