Accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)

Issue date: 05/05/17 - UKAS Medical 9319 (Accredited to ISO 15189:2012)

Please note users will be informed if an assay/result lies outside the laboratory's scope of accreditation.

*ATTENTION*

Changes to the respiratory virus testing service at the West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre 

Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 screening (COVID19 only screening) 

Please continue to select the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID19) option in track.   

Patient exhibiting respiratory symptoms 

From Wednesday 24th August 2021, the virus laboratory will be able to offer detection of influenza A/ influenza B /RSV and SARS-CoV-2 for patients with respiratory symptoms.  Results will be available within 12-24 hours of receipt of sample into the laboratory for all four pathogens. To access the test you must select from Track both the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID19) and Respiratory Virus PCR (influenza A/B/RSV) options.  Do not select this option for asymptomatic covid19 screens. 

The extended respiratory screen is still available but for limited patient groups as per current agreements.   This extended respiratory screen is carried out via a different testing stream and therefore takes longer for results to be available.  Please do NOT request this if you only require influenza or RSV testing in the patient. 

Please note that samples will be discarded soon after testing. 

West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre (WoSSVC): Changes to opening times and COVID services from August 2021.

 As of Monday the 2nd of August the WoSSVC will be moving to new opening times of 

• 9am-8pm during the week
• 9am-5pm at weekends.

Urgent and guaranteed same day/next morning testing will still be available and can be accessed as outlined below. The laboratory and associated email service will not be staffed outwith these times.

 Weekday SARs CoV-2 PCR / COVID-19 Service Information

Samples requiring a same day result need to be in the WoSSVC by 3 pm.  To arrange next morning testing samples will need to be in the following locations by 7pm:

• West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre
• QEUH Microbiology laboratory
• RAH/IRH reception laboratories.

 The WoSSVC will continue to offer rapid urgent tests (results reported with 1-3 hours of sample receipt) for a small number of clinical scenarios. The cut off time for such requests will be 6:30pm (see appendix 1).

 Same day/next morning/urgent requests should be highlighted to the laboratory via the [email protected] email address. Please provide the patient name, CHI and reason for the test.

    Critically urgent tests required outwith laboratory opening times can be processed via the various hospital based Roche LIAT PCR machines (see appendix 2 for the current locations of Roche LIAT platforms). These are a limited resource and are only available for a small number of clinical scenarios such as Transplant recipients, unplanned pre- operative testing and urgent infection control issues.

 Please note that out of hours urgent testing for SARs COV-2 using the Roche LIAT does not require prior discussion with the on call virologist.

 Weekend CoV-2 PCR / COVID-19 Service Information

The cut off time for a same day screening test at the weekend is 12pm.  To access the next morning service samples will need to be in the WoSSVC prior to 3pm. The cut off time for urgent rapid tests (1-3hrs) at the weekend will be 3:30pm (see appendix 1).

 Same day/next morning/urgent requests should be highlighted to the laboratory via the [email protected] email address. Please provide the patient name, CHI and reason for the test.

 Critically urgent requests required outwith laboratory opening times can be processed via the various hospital based Roche LIAT PCR machines as outlined above.

Appendix 1: Summary of sample arrival cut off times for SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing.

Appendix 2: Location of Roche LIAT Point of Care Platforms in NHSGGC.

HIV Viral load

On Monday the 21st June the Virology laboratory will be changing the way HIV viral loads are tested. This new test is more sensitive and can detect down to a level of 20 copies/ml instead of the previous 40 copies/ml. If you have any queries please contact us at [email protected].

Virology testing ( including Covid-19) 

• VPSS containers are changing, the containers are slightly larger than previous tubes, with a red lid and clearly labelled as VPSS.
• These new  VPSS containers  will continue to be available for collection via your usual hub.
• The smaller VPPS tubes can still be used.
• Please also take note that VPSS samples can be inoculated with any dry swab.
• The swab should be discarded and NOT left in the VPSS container, as this causes delays in processing.

Attention: 2019 NCoV (Novel Coronavirus) Update.

For latest national guidelines regards SARS-CoV-2 (formally 2019-nCoV, 2019-novel coronavirus) the virus responsible for Covid19, please select the following link to https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/a-to-z-of-topics/covid-19/ on this website scroll down to Guidance for use in Scotland, in this section you will find up-to-date guidance.  Please continue to monitor the HPS website regularly as information will be updated frequently.

 Please note for non-GGC users the SARS-CoV-2 request form can be accessed here.  GGC users can find the request for 2019-nCoV on trakcare.

Users should be aware that we test both for covid19 (SARS-CoV2) and also seasonal coronavirus (OC43, NL63, 229E). 

Please be aware that if you have requested the extended respiratory screen, there will be a result for seasonal coronavirus. 

Some patients can be positive for seasonal coronavirus this does NOT mean they are positive for covid19

Due to IT issues we are not able to amend how the results are presented, the results will appear as follows:

Clinical Portal:

Go to Labs then Virology and click on the 2019NCoV for the covid19 result

The covid19 result will NOT be present in any other respiratory virology results (Respiratory Virus or Extended Resp. Virus). 

Seasonal coronavirus will be reported as coronavirus in the Extended Resp. Virus

TrakCare:

To obtain the covid19 result look for the result in Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

Covid19 result will NOT be present in any of the other respiratory virology results (Respiratory PCR + Mycoplasma pneumoniae or ITU/Immunocompromised pulmonary virus PCR)

Seasonal coronavirus will be reported as coronavirus in ITU/Immunocompromised pulmonary virus PCR

• Email enquires: [email protected]
• Telephone
• Internal: 38722 / External: 0141 201 8722
• Out of hours clinical advice via switchboard (24 hours): Internal: 1000 / External: 0141 211 4000
• Address: West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre, Level 5, New Lister Building, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, 10-16 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow G31 2ER, Scotland.
• Delivery Address (08:45 - 17:00): West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre,  Main Specimen Reception (Level 4),  New Lister Building,
  Glasgow Royal Infirmary, 10-16 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow G31 2ER, 
  Scotland.
• If using DX our number is 6491304 (Glasgow 94G exchange)

The West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre (WoSSVC) is located in the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and is part of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board.

We provide a full range of virology tests to our users and our development team are continuously updating and introducing new assays. 

For our current test repertoire please see the WoSSVC User Manual.

In addition to our routine repertoire we are part of The Scottish National Blood Borne Virus Specialist Testing Service which provides specialist testing for blood borne viruses for Scotland. We are also responsible for testing respiratory specimens for national surveillance purposes.

Our website is specifically aimed at providing our users with the information they need to use our service most effectively. Our staff are always happy to discuss any problems you may have regarding individual patients or to discuss the quality of the service we provide.