Professional Guidance
Guidance to deliver safe, high-quality care by setting standards for the profession and supporting biomedical scientists in their practice
IBMS professional guidance is developed by scientific and professional experts that include members of the IBMS Advisory Panels and Education and Professional Standards Committee.
IBMS benchmark policies
IBMS benchmark policies support the delivery of safe, efficient laboratory services
Communication of Pathology Results
Good Professional Practice for Biomedical Scientists
Guidance on Quality Management in Laboratories
Patient Sample Request and Identification From Criteria
Supervision of Biomedical Support Staff (Assistant and Associate Practitioners)
Laboratory training approval and clinical standards
Standards for laboratory training and good practice for laboratories delivering IBMS qualifications
Laboratory Training Standards for IBMS Qualifications
For further details on IBMS Laboratory Approval, please visit our dedicated Training Laboratory page
Joint guidance
BMS - Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath)
Guidelines for Handling Medicolegal Specimens and Preserving the Chain of Evidence
Guidelines on autopsy practice
IBMS, British Association for Cytopathology (BAC) and Royal College of Pathologists
The Retention and Storage of Pathological Records and Specimens
Role of biomedical scientists within the provision of a non-gynaecological cytology service - Updated guidance addressing changes in the non-gynaecological cytology service model.
United Kingdom Transfusion Laboratory Collaborative (UKTLC)
March 2023
An abbreviated version of the 2023 UKTLC standards is now available on the SHOT website. This is accompanied by some useful tools such as a gap analysis, example capacity plan and examples for reviewing equivalence to qualifications required.
Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) Reports
The Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) collects and analyses anonymised information reported in the UK about serious adverse reactions and events related to blood transfusion and then makes recommendations to improve patient and transfusion safety. The latest SHOT Reports can be found here.
Information on Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and its impact on haemovigilance reporting and investigation of transfusion incidents in England can be found here.
Using Information Technology for Safer Transfusion
The SHOT UK Collaborative Reviewing and reforming IT Processes in Transfusion (SCRIPT) has developed a guide to illustrate how IT can be used to improve transfusion safety, which can be accessed here.
UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations (UKSMIs)
UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations (UK SMIs) are a comprehensive referenced collection of recommended algorithms and procedures for clinical microbiology. The SMIs are developed are through a consultative process to which the IBMS contributes. The UKSMIs are4 published on the RCPath website which can be found here:
Guidance Resources
Achievable standards, Benchmarks for reporting, and Criteria for evaluating cervical cytopathology
IBMS options and considerations for staff changing discipline or retraining 2019
Standards for the management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
Acting as an expert or professional witness
A guidance document for healthcare professionals from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
Tissue pathways for diagnostic cytopathology
Royal College of Pathologists