Cabrini Pathology
Cabrini Pathology has a modern up-to-date laboratory located at Cabrini Hospital Malvern that provides a quality 24 hour service for the rapid diagnosis of disease and subsequent patient monitoring.
Malvern
Cabrini Hospital (Main Laboratory)
183 Wattletree Road
Malvern Vic 3144
Tel: 9508 1333
Fax: 9508 1448
Collection Centres
The Cabrini Hospital Laboratory is supported by a network of collection centres which are conveniently located around Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs.
To View a list of Collection Centres and their locations click here...
Patient Information
Most tests have no special requirements, however a small number of tests need special instructions to be followed.
For further information on these tests, click here...
Cabrini Pathology Services
- Collection
Pathology Collection staff provide a seven-day-a-week service to inpatients at all Cabrini campuses including Malvern, Brighton, Ashwood, Prahran and Elsternwick.
The home visiting collection service aligns the work of Cabrini Pathology to Cabrini Health's goal of providing healthcare support to people within the local community as well as to those within the hospital facilities.
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Biochemistry
The Biochemistry Department is a 24 hour laboratory which is predominately an automated work area that allows for the processing of large volumes of work with a minimum turnaround time for results.
Patients who come to Cabrini Health, either as inpatients or visiting the on-site consultants, may require blood tests for routine screening, initial diagnosis or the monitoring of a range of conditions such as diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, rheumatoid arthritis and liver kidney, lung and thyroid diseases. The blood tests conducted in the Biochemistry Department can also aid in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, monitoring of therapeutic drugs and measurement of levels of hormones, lipids and tumour markers such as Prostate Specific antigen (PSA).
- Cytology
Cytology Deals with the examination of cells obtained from any body tissue or fluid.
While Cytology is primarily utilised for the detection of malignant cells, other conditions such as benign tumours, inflammation and infection can also be diagnosed.
There may be up to 300,000 cells present on each slide and a cytologist must systematically look at every area during the screening process. Microscopic examination can help the pathologist to identify different types of cells and determine if they have originated in a specific site or have metastasised from elsewhere in the body. Further studies may be performed to help achieve a diagnosis. The pathologist's report may include a recommendation for further investigations such as a biopsy.
- Immunohaematology / Blood Bank
Safe blood transfusion is a cornerstone of modern medicine and is a significant component of both acute and chronic patient care. The surgeons operating in the theatres within Cabrini Health or the oncologists working with chemotherapy patients would not be able to do their job without an assurance of the rapid availability of a range of blood products.
Surgeons are encouraged to refer patients to the pre-admission clinic at Malvern and Brighton to facilitate the provision of blood for surgical patients and avoid delays that can result if antibodies are detected. The laboratory is able to utilise modern electronic cross-matching technologies to provide blood to the Malvern theatres within minutes or to issue blood pre-operatively to the Brighton theatres.
- Histology
The Histology Department has a long record of excellence in dealing with surgical specimens and the range of surgical procedures undertaken at Cabrini facilities provides an excellent educational environment. The Department is an accredited training facility for Anatomical Pathology registrars.
A frozen section service is provided for surgeons at both Cabrini Malvern and Cabrini Brighton by appointment with a pathologist. This process enables an interim diagnosis of critical specimens while the patient is still on the operating table.
A service such as this is rarely provided by other pathology providers and adds value for referrers to the Cabrini Pathology Histology Department.
- Haematology
Haematology is a discipline that studies the formation and morphology of blood cells to investigate diseases of the blood and to monitor treatment. The most common test is the Full Blood Examination (FBE) that provides the doctor with information on the patient's blood count including white cells and differential, red cells, haemoglobin and platelets.
The laboratory is the primary diagnostic centre for leukaemia and bone marrow disorders, as well as for blood borne parasites such as malaria.
The Haematology Department also performs coagulation testing and in particular monitoring of Warfarin dosing to prevent formation of blood clots. A close relationship is established with these patients due to the regular testing which allows the pathologists to recommend the appropriate dose for the patient.
- Microbiology
Cabrini Microbiology is a clinical diagnostic microbiology laboratory with specimens received from hospital patients and from the general practice clinics in the community. The on-site laboratory allows for rapid processing of urgent specimens from the Emergency Department such as Cerebral Spinal Fluids (CSFs) for meningitis or blood cultures for sepsis.
The laboratory is critical to the success of infection control systems within Cabrini Health. Rapid identification of patients with highly infectious diseases such as Norovirus, Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin
Resistant Enterococci (VRE) can help limit the spread of these organisms throughout the hospital.
