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Cellular Pathology services at St George’s Hospital are now part of South West London Pathology which is a partnership set up by Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust to provide a single, integrated pathology service across South West London and beyond.

For more information about South West London Pathology visit the website www.swlpath.nhs.uk

Cellular Pathology services are essential to the delivery of cancer services, and specialist pathologists are core members of all the multidisciplinary teams operating specialist cancer services within the Trust.

Cellular pathology comprises:

  • cytopathology – the study of cells and how they develop and function. This includes exfoliative cytology and fine needle aspiration. The service carries out more than 26,000 tests on smears each year as well as more than 7,000 other tests to diagnose diseases, including cancer.
  • surgical pathology – the examination of tissue taken from a patient during surgery to help diagnosis or help decide which treatment is appropriate. Each year more than 22,000 specimens are examined.
  • autopsy pathology services. This includes the one per cent of hospital deaths without a clear cause, a regional service for babies dying at birth and some coroner’s autopsies.

The Department trains histopathologists as part of the South Thames Regional Histopathology Training Scheme and its lead doctor is the Regional Training Programme Director. The Reader in Skin Pathology is the Royal College of Pathologists’ Regional Specialty Adviser.

The Department has two seminar rooms, fully equipped for video-conferencing, in which it holds regular clinical meetings.

The Cellular Pathology laboratory is located in the Lower Ground Floor (basement) of Jenner Wing.