Typical turnround time is a term used to encompass frequency of assay performance, result availability and the time from receipt of the sample within the department to despatch of the result from the department. All these factors are directly under departmental control and can thus be estimated, whereas the collection of samples and delivery of reports, with or without dependence on the postal service, are not.

See departmental analyte tables for quoted times.

To ensure that a Clinical Chemistry request is analysed and a result despatched on the same day, for those tests with a <24hr turnround time, the specimen must arrive in the department by 14.30hrs Monday to Friday and by 10.30hrs on Saturday.