Chain of Custody Sample Collection

The objective of chain-of-custody sample collection is to ensure that the result produced by laboratory or other analytical techniques relates directly to an unadulterated sample provided by the named donor. This can be urine, saliva, oral fluid, sweat, blood, or hair samples.

However, without the correct training, there a number of pitfalls that a Collection Officer may encounter during a sample collection or screening assignment. These include willful sample contamination, adulteration, and substitution.

Our qualified trainer assessors ensure all candidates meet the high standards required by this demanding discipline by combining experience with formal learning aims and objectives.

Delegates will be equipped with the skills and underpinning knowledge necessary to carry out primary screening of bodily matrices, namely urine, saliva, oral fluid and hair stands for Drugs of Abuse and shall be competent in the application of approved techniques for the detection of alcohol using alcohol breathalyser equipment. All sample collections shall be performed in a legally defensible manner and in accordance with the strict protocols recommended by the European Laboratories Guidelines for Workplace Drug Testing.

In order to qualify for Certification delegates are required to meet with the following criteria:

1. Understand how to manage individuals once a test has been requested

2. Describe the form and function of the range of equipment used for primary screening

3. Correctly prepare on-site facilities for donor interview and sample collection

4. Interview donors in a professional, dignified manner

5. Collect primary samples hygienically using approved chain-of-custody protocols

6. Recognise samples that may be contaminated, adulterated, or subjected to substitution

7. Demonstrate the process for obtaining, interpreting and recording screen results

8. Correctly package, store and dispatch samples for laboratory analysis

9. Describe the range of circumstances that lead to void or delayed sample testing

10. Distinguish between samples that are Presumed Positive (Non-Negative), Confirmed Positive, Negative, and Positive due to Medication Declared

All Chain-Of-Custody training involves summary assessment by a City & Guilds qualified Competence Assessor