Although I agree that there must be Consultant control over the range of tests that are performed outside the "core" hours, I would have had no hesitation in agreeing to TSH and FT4 in the scenario outlined in Abergaveny. Interpretation of the results may have been interesting but interpration would have been the debatable point, not the analysis. However 2 years ago I would not have agreed, simply due to technical, not clinical reasons.
The Clinical Biochemist has to make such decisions based on Clinical need and technical contraints. With an automated immunoassay analyser the TFT decision is easy; for some analytes requested at midnight the decision can be difficult (irrespective of the clinical need). The department's service provision inevitably reflects available technology and evolves with technical advances.
Martin Myers
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Enterprise Mail Additional Enclosure.
Enclosure file names :
Enclosure 1
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