SYNLAB Laboratory Services can support your organisation’s proactive commitment to the health and safety of individual employees, co-workers and customers by introducing drug and alcohol testing. We offer a range of different testing methods to meet your individual business needs.
Drug Testing
A drug test from SYNLAB Laboratory Services is usually conducted in two stages. The first stage is the preliminary screen; an instant test usually performed at the customer site. The second stage is to confirm the result of the preliminary screen by sending it to our laboratory which quantifies the drugs or metabolites in the sample against recognised cut off levels.
Urine
The most effective method for drug testing is to use a urine test. Urine is considered the gold standard as it’s highly reliable and easy to collect and analyse. Urine is also the easiest sample medium used for cannabis detection – the most commonly abused substance within the UK.
Saliva
Saliva testing is particularly useful in situations where toilet facilities are not readily available and is an unobtrusive method. With a narrower window of detection, saliva is used to look for use within the past day or less.
Alcohol Testing
The most effective way to test for alcohol is to use an electronic defensible breathalyser to test a breath sample. At SYNLAB Laboratory Services, we use calibrated electronic breathalysers which are the same models used by many police forces in the UK. These breathalysers produce instant and accurate results.
Other options available for alcohol testing include blood analysis (CDT and LFT), disposable breathalysers and urine testing kits.
Hair Drug & Alcohol Testing
Hair testing is useful when a profile of historic drug use and chronic excessive alcohol use over a number of months is needed. The hair grows at an average rate of 1cm per month; therefore a 3cm section of scalp hair can provide an approximate 3-month retrospective profile of drug or alcohol use. Due to the growth rate, hair provides a unique window of detection covering months rather than days that urine or oral fluid analysis can show.
Our sister company Lextox, and part of the SYNLAB Group is a specialist hair drug and alcohol testing laboratory who can assist you with all of your hair testing needs.
You can learn more about Lextox by visiting their website; www.lextox.co.uk or alternatively you can call them on 029 2048 4141 to discuss you hair testing needs.
If you would like to find out more about our drug and alcohol testing services, please contact us.