Chemical Pathology Department

The laboratory operates 24 hours services on every day of the week. The laboratory is fully staffed for routine laboratory requests between 8.00am – 4.00pm (Monday- Friday). Call duty/emergency requests are attended to between 4.00pm-8.00am (Monday- Friday), Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays.

1. Consultants:

• Chemical Pathologists interact with patients at several different points through their treatment journeys – they investigate test results and meet patients in person to support their treatment. They oversee various outpatient clinics in hospital, like lipid clinics (that monitor people who may have raised levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood) and metabolic bone clinics (that monitor people with disorders of bone strength).

1. In a metabolic bone clinic, for example, a chemical pathologist will have appointments with patients with osteoporosis (fragile bones). They’ll talk through their bone density scans and blood tests and help them to prevent future fractures. They also meet with patients as part of ward rounds.  

• Outside of patient work, chemical pathologists often give clinicians advice on abnormal biochemistry test results. Chemical Pathologists work closely with medical laboratory scientists to make sure the work done there is of high quality/ They monitor how the technical tools and processes used by their scientists counterparts impact on results.

1. Training of resident doctors
2. Attending to referrals
3. Co-management of patients

• Establishment of internal and external quality controls
• Administrative roles

1. Researches
2. Residents: Training, running of special tests and routine ones during calls. Results interpretation with Consultants’ guidance. Attends to referrals with consultants’ support. Research. Running obesity and metabolic clinics as well as investigative clinics.
3. Medical Laboratory Scientists:
4. A Medical Laboratory Scientist's role is to provide accurate laboratory results in a timely manner among other duties. Establishment of internal and external quality controls. Administrative roles depending on cadre as well as participation in researches.
5. Medical Laboratory Technicians/Asssistants/Scientists

Sample collection and processing, issuing of laboratory results.

1. Scientific Officers

Supporting staff to the laboratory physicians during clinics, researches and other duties.

1. Clinical Services

1. Running of metabolic and Obesity Clinics
2. Investigative Clinics
3. Attending to referrals from other departments as well as co-management of some clinical cases such dyselectrolytaemia etc.

Available Tests

The following tests are carried out in the laboratory

Glycaemic Monitoring Tests

1. Fasting blood glucose
2. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
3. Glycated haemoglobin

Fertility Profile

1. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
2. Leutinizing hormone (LH)
3. Oestrogen/ Oestradiol
4. Progesterone
5. Testosterone
6. β-HCG

Thyroid Function Tests Profile

1. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
2. Triiodothyronine (T₃)
3. Tetraiodothyroxine (T₄)
4. Free T₃
5. Free T₄
6. Thyroglobulin

Renal Function Tests

1. Electrolytes –Sodium, Potassium, Bicarbonate
2. Urea
3. Creatinine
4. Uric acid
5. Clearance tests- Creatinine clearance, Urea clearance.
6. Urinary sodium, urinary potassium.

Liver Function Tests Profile

1. Total bilirubin
2. Conjugated bilirubin
3. Total protein
4. Albumin
5. Globulin
6. Alkaline phosphatase
7. Alanine transferase SGPT
   Aspartate transferase SGOT
8. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)
9. ɣ- glutamyl transferase

Cardiac Function Tests

1. Total cholesterol
2. High density lipoprotein (HDL)
3. Low density lipoprotein (LDL)
4. Triglyceride
5. Troponin I and T

Bone Assessment TestsCalcium

1. Inorganic phosphate

Special Tests

1. Acid phosphatase
2. Protein electrophoresis
3. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) test profile
1. CSF glucose
2. CSF protein
4. Urinary protein
5. Occult blood test
6. Neat pregnancy test
7. Dilution pregnancy test
8. Prostate specific antigen (PSA)
9. Free Prostate specific antigen (fPSA)
10. Microalbumin
11. Alpha-feto protein
12. Bence Jones protein
13. C-reactive protein

Urinalysis

Glucose, protein, bilirubin, ketone bodies, urobilinogen, porphobilinogen, bile salts, pH, specific gravity, Urine osmolality UB, Microalbumin

Call Duty Tests

These are tests that are attended to during call duty hours, weekends and public holidays

1. Glucose
2. Sodium
3. Potassium
4. Bicarbonate
5. Direct bilirubin
6. Total bilirubin
7. CSF glucose
8. CSF protein
9. Urea

Current Staff Strength

The total number of staff in the Department is 54 presently with the breakdown as follows:

1. Consultants: 4
2. Residents: 5
3. Medical Laboratory Scientists: 17
4. Medical Laboratory Technicians/Assistants/Attendants: 22
5. Scientific Officers: 2
6. Secretarial Staff: 3