The Histopathology Department Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) provides a comprehensive range of histological and cytological pathological services. These services include the routine and specialised examination of tissue samples (including immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy), diagnostic screening of body fluids and aspirates, and coroner's autopsies.
These services are fully supported and led by Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) registered consultant clinical staff and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered senior biomedical scientists.
Opening hours
The Histopathology Department is open for the routine examination of specimens from 08:30 to 17:30 Monday to Friday and on Saturday for deliveries from 09:00 to 12:00. It also provides an on-call service for renal and liver transplant and out of hours intra-operative frozen section.
Contact details
Departmental Clinical Lead: Dr Michael Eden
Histopathology Manager: Zahrah Rosun
Contact Histopathology and cytology via its Enquiries line
Telephone: 01223 217163
Histopathology service update
The Histopathology and Diagnostic Cytology laboratory has relocated to 1000 Discovery Drive on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
UKAS Accreditation Scope
As part of the relocation to new facility, the new laboratory location and the activities that will be performed in the new location will be temporarily out of scope of our UKAS ISO 15189:2022 accreditation, until a formal relocation/extension to scope assessment can be completed. An extension to scope assessment has taken place in October 2025. Until accreditation is formally re-issued, any tests performed in the new building will not be under our scope of UKAS accreditation, although they will continue to meet our internal and external quality and clinical standards.
Please be assured that patient safety, sample integrity and diagnostic quality remain our highest priorities throughout this transition. We will notify you as soon as full UKAS accreditation is re-instated post relocation. Thank you for your understanding and continued collaboration.
Should you have any questions about specific tests or referral pathways during this period, please contact:
- Histopathology Laboratory Manager – Zahrah Rosun
Email Zahrah Rosun - Histopathology Clinical Lead – Dr Michael Eden
Email Dr Michael Eden
Histopathology turnaround time
Due to a significant increase in the number Histopathology investigations since the end of the COVID pandemic the Cambridge Histopathology laboratory has not been meeting the turnaround time reporting standards to which we aspire:
- 80% within 7 days
- 90% within 10 days
- 95% within 21 days
An improvement programme is on-going and the laboratory continues to work on several initiatives to increase capacity. This includes the use of digital imaging (replacing microscopy) and automated microtomy on some samples.
Information on the current turnaround time (TAT) performance for all cases is shown below:
| Month / Year | 7 Day TAT | 10 Day TAT | 21 Day TAT | Number of Cases | Total Slides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month / Year August 2025 | 7 Day TAT 77.81% | 10 Day TAT 85.79% | 21 Day TAT 96.49% | Number of Cases 5010 | Total Slides 33129 |
| Month / Year September 2025 | 7 Day TAT 74.38% | 10 Day TAT 87.21% | 21 Day TAT 98.12% | Number of Cases 5909 | Total Slides 39518 |
| Month / Year October 2025 | 7 Day TAT 67.59% | 10 Day TAT 83.81% | 21 Day TAT 97.67% | Number of Cases 5058 | Total Slides 32943 |
| Month / Year November 2025 | 7 Day TAT 66.08% | 10 Day TAT 81.77% | 21 Day TAT 96.59% | Number of Cases 5342 | Total Slides 35967 |
If you require an urgent result, please contact the department via its enquiries line ext. 217163 (if external 01223 217163) or email histopathology so that this can be escalated appropriately.