Model rules for visitors
Model Rules for Visitors
Definition: Visitors are defined as any personnel who are
not part of the staff of Laboratory Medicine. This includes staff
from other Departments within UHBW, or from other Trusts,
representatives of commercial organisations, service and
maintenance personnel from UHBW or external organisations, etc. It
does not include portering staff delivering specimens to the
laboratory or collecting blood products from the blood bank on
level 8.
Much of the work in a clinical laboratory is concerned
with handling biological samples which are potentially infectious.
In addition to following general rules, visitors must also take
these additional precautions:
Visitors must take these precautions when entering
the Department of Laboratory Medicine:
1. Visitors must announce their arrival at the
reception hatch between the lift lobby and Laboratory Medicine
Reception on Level 8, where they will be asked to sign the
visitor's book and will be issued with a Visitor pass badge. This
should be affixed to their clothing and be visible throughout the
duration of their visit. They may be asked to wait in the lift
lobby while their authority to visit is checked with the member of
staff they are visiting. If this is approved, they will be admitted
to the Reception area, where they will be met by whoever it is they
are visiting. If not, they will not be admitted.
2. Visitors are not permitted to enter the laboratory
area unless accompanied by a member of staff who is responsible for
their welfare.
3. Visitors must wear an approved laboratory coat,
properly fastened, in the laboratory itself. This does not apply if
the visitor is only to visit 'clean' areas within the laboratory
area (i.e. offices, staff rooms, etc).
4. Visitors must be instructed not to touch anything
unless their visit requires it, in which case they must comply with
the appropriate local rules.
5. Visitors must wash their hands thoroughly after
removing their protective coat, before leaving the
laboratory.
6. Visitors must not use personal items (e.g. pens)
whilst in the laboratory if they have handled any laboratory
equipment, and must be instructed that eating, drinking, smoking
etc is not permitted.
7. Visitors must not be taken into areas where they
could become exposed directly to known, present, infectious
risk.
8. Visitors must not be left unsupervised while in
the laboratory and should be accompanied to the exit from the
laboratory at the end of their visit.
9. When leaving the laboratory visitors will be asked
to enter the time they leave in the visitor's
book.
