In developing our service it has been vital to select a pathology laboratory as committed to high standards of client care as we are. After a thorough evaluation of the country’s leading private pathology laboratories we chose The Doctors Laboratory.

TDL is a medically led laboratory and is the largest independent provider of clinical laboratory diagnostic services in the UK. We provide the laboratory information required for diagnosis and treatment of medical disorders.

TDL's parent company is Sonic Healthcare Ltd, an Australian clinical diagnostic organisation, with a turnover of approximately A$1 billion in 2003. Sonic is one of the largest providers of clinical diagnostics in the world, and offers pathology and radiology services to medical practitioners, hospitals and community medical services in Australia, New Zealand and Far East.

TDL provides many services, including:

§         Testing blood, tissue and other medical samples.

§         Specialist diagnostic analysis for other laboratories.

§         Managed IT Laboratory information.

§         Automated laboratories. Partnerships with NHS Trusts.

§         Support for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research.

§         Independent consultancy to both the NHS and Private Sectors.

TDL's customers can be divided into the following two categories:

TDL has a proven reputation for efficient and safe specimen handling throughout the UK and worldwide.

Samples can be sent from anywhere, with results being available within a few hours of receipt.

TDL has a number of laboratories in the London area, serving medical facilities throughout the UK and worldwide.

Advanced communication systems link all sites and create a real time networked facility.

High quality, specialised automation and dedicated professional staff allow for a wide range of diagnostic investigations to be carried out safely, accurately and cost-effectively.

TDL has a strong record of growth built on its reputation being:

§         committed to quality and service

§         led by health care professionals who understand the needs of its customers

§         cost effective

The Quality Management Group (QMG) is designed to put forward recommendations and solutions for the operation of a formal quality management system for the The Doctors Health-Care (TDHC) laboratory group.

§         The aims of these recommendations may be summarised thus:

§         To meet the needs of relevant evolving regulatory standards (e.g. GXP, CPA, ISO 9000 series)

§         To ensure sufficient resources and management time is devoted to quality

§         Increasing clinical trial work and associated quality inspections have indicated a requirement to extend quality management operations

§         To put all areas of TDHC laboratory group under a central quality management control

§         To formalise External Quality Assessment management procedures

The TDHC laboratory group quality policy is thus:

§         It is the policy of The Doctors Health Care laboratory group to perform all its work to the highest possible level of quality and compliance. Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) are the minimum foundations upon which the standards of work are based.

§         This policy statement reinforces to both customers and staff the commitment that management of The Doctors Healthcare Group has to high standards of quality compliance and service.