For this inspection, we were not able to speak with people using the service. As a pathology department, the service had very limited contact with patients and mainly dealt with its customers including general practitioners (GPs) and Bedford Hospital NHS Trust. We gathered evidence of how the service was meeting each standard by speaking with staff, observing staff practice, looking at the environment and reviewing documentation.

We found that the service provided information and produced test results in a way that enabled its customers to make informed choices and ensure that people received appropriate care. We found that the service took reasonable steps to ensure the confidentiality of people's information. We saw there were systems in place to process urgent and high risk samples and ensure that people received the correct results of their tests. We found there were effective systems in place to control the risk of infection and in general the environment was clean. We saw there were enough qualified staff available who were trained in and knowledgeable about the systems and processes used at the service.

We found that the service had quality monitoring systems in place and people had a variety of methods available for them to share their views and opinions about the service. We noted that where actions to prevent the recurrence of incidents or changes to improve the service were required these were completed.