UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations- Steering Committee Working Group Meeting March 2020

The focus of the meetings will be to agree a 5 year strategy for UK SMIs taking into account political, economic, social and technological factors.

UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations (SMIs) comprise a collection of recommended algorithms for initial test selection, standard operating procedures for carrying out microbiology and virology tests, together with testing and confirmatory strategies.

The UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations are developed by microbiologists and all relevant professional groups are involved in the guidance development process. The steering Committee and working groups involved in the production of the guidance include laboratory staff and clinicians. The educational objectives are to implement the Terms of Reference for the Steering Committee, consolidating the expertise of the working group in order to discuss and review UK SMIs and set priorities in line with public health agendas. This will further strengthen the PHE's process for producing UK SMIs.

Feedback of the documents from a wide consultation process will ensure that the methods remain relevant, appropriate, and up to date and will strengthen UK SMIs for use within a clinical laboratory setting.