Accessing Advice from a Microbiologist

There is currently no on call consultant microbiologist available out-of-hours Monday to Friday 17:00 - 09:00 and weekends 16:00 - 10:00.

This is a temporary measure due to staff shortage and is required to preserve provision of daytime services.

For further information on the temporary change to the consultant microbiology service, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document (link only active if accessing via NHS network).

Resources to help with common microbiology questions

Microbiology results

  • Microbiology reports are available electronically immediately after authorisation on all electronic results platforms. For formatting reasons, PMS/Trak is preferred.
  • Check results before any antimicrobial prescription to guide antimicrobial choice. Unauthorised results will not be given over the phone by laboratory reception staff for reasons of patient safety.

Antimicrobial Prescribing and Infection Management

  • Significant positive blood cultures will always be phoned to the relevant clinical area by the lab. There is guidance available both for initial management of newly positive blood cultures (link only active if accessing via NHS network), and for management of blood cultures with provisional and final reports (link only active if accessing via NHS network).
  • Refer to the infections section for the empirical antimicrobial policy. Confirm suitability of the empirical regimen with previous culture results – review last 6 months.
  • The Antimicrobial Guidelines and Information page (link only active if accessing via NHS network) on AthenA contains antimicrobial prescribing guidance which falls outwith the empirical policy, including advice on management of prescriptions for gentamicin and vancomycin, isolates reported as susceptible at increased exposure dosing (“I”), and advice on IV-to-oral switch therapy if no positive cultures are available.

Microbiology Sample Requirements

Infection Prevention and Control Advice

  • Refer to the IPCT page (link only active if accessing via NHS network) on AthenA.

The "Life Jacket" Guidance

The "Life Jacket": Guidance on Antimicrobial Management of the Acutely Deteriorating Adult Patient with Suspected Sepsis (link only active if accessing via NHS network)

  • To provide critical, immediate guidance for antimicrobial management of acutely deteriorating patients with suspected sepsis while microbiology consultant advice is not immediately available out-of-hours (Monday to Friday 17:00 - 09:00 and weekends 16:00 - 10:00).
  • This guideline aims to bridge the gap until formal microbiology review on the next working day.

Accessing Microbiology Clinical Advice “in hours”: Mon-Fri 09.00 – 17.00

If your question has not been answered from the resources above, the question should be escalated through usual routes of clinical supervision up to and including the responsible consultant.

If the question cannot be answered within the clinical team, the following routes are available to access advice from the duty microbiologist:

1. A clinical email inbox for routine referrals (Mon-Fri 09:00 – 17:00) from Primary Care and in-patient wards, e.g.:

  • Complex infections
  • Rationalisation of antimicrobials
  • Result interpretation
Email: Clinical_Specialty_Microbiology_XH@aapct.scot.nhs.uk
All email referrals must include:
  • Patient details, including CHI
  • Recent/current antimicrobial therapy, including durations
  • Relevant co-morbidities
  • Drug allergies, including nature of reaction.

Referrals with inadequate information will be returned for completion. The responsible clinical consultant must be copied into the email.

A reply to an email referral will usually be available within 2 hours if received before 3pm. Any referrals received after this time may not be answered until the next normal working day.

2. Consultants or General Practitioners can seek advice from the duty microbiologist through the following routes for urgent referrals, e.g.:

  • Acutely unwell patient with suspected sepsis
  • Referrals from the Emergency Department, Critical Care, theatres
  • Referrals from GPs on house visit.

Monday-Friday 09:00-17:00 Page 3213 directly or through switchboard.

N.B. Where this task is delegated, the caller must be familiar with all aspect of the case including plans for treatment escalation and intervention.

Accessing Microbiology Advice at weekends

A consultant microbiologist is available for clinically urgent consultant-to-consultant referrals via switchboard between 10:00 and 16:00.

Accessing Microbiology Advice out-of-hours (Monday to Friday 17.00-09.00 and Sat/Sun 16:00-10:00)

Out-of-hours Consultant Microbiology cover is temporarily suspended. For further information on the temporary change to the consultant microbiology service, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document (link only active if accessing via NHS network).

If your question has not been answered from the resources above, issues must be escalated through usual routes of clinical supervision up to and including the responsible consultant.

In addition to senior clinical review patients can be referred using the email address above for next working day consultant microbiologist input.

 

Guideline reviewed 10/07/2025
Page updated 11/07/2025



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