Trimega Laboratories is proud to announce that it will be the main sponsor of the 2011 National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC), which takes place from 19-21 October in London. The 2011

NCASC is entitled ‘Tough Times, Good Decisions’ and will be a vital event for councillors, directors, senior officers, policymakers and service managers with responsibilities for education, children’s services and adult care in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors.

In addition to sponsoring the NCASC, Trimega’s CEO Avi Lasarow will deliver a welcome address at the conference opening, and the company will host a fringe event on October 20^th. The fringe event, entitled “Hair testing for drug and alcohol abuse – the science of child protection” will highlight the role hair testing can play in helping to safeguard children and give conference attendees the opportunity to learn more about the science and application of hair testing for substance abuse.

The three-day conference features speeches from senior government and opposition MPs, including Andrew Lansley MP, Michael Gove MP and Andy Burnham MP, as well as a range of other keynote speeches, plenary sessions and networking events.

Trimega is the leading European provider of hair testing technology services and has pioneered the use of dual-marker hair testing that has significantly increased the accuracy of hair tests. In April this year, the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) confirmed that dual testing on hair for alcohol misuse provides accuracy rates of over 94%, with less than 1% risk of a false positive, and just 5.75% risk of a false negative.

Avi Lasarow commented: “We are delighted to support an event of key importance to all those involved in children’s welfare and look forward to sharing and discussing with attendees the science behind hair testing and how it will help alleviate fears that children may be left in abusive households.”

Trimega Laboratories has now published a series of online video answers which address the most frequently raised questions on the subjects of Hair Drug Testing, Hair Alcohol Testing, Blood Alcohol Testing, Adoption Testing and Hair Steroid Testing.  Access our website to watch and listen to one of our scientists explain the answers to some seemingly complex questions in laymans terms.

Hair strand testing as a practice is now the most commonly applied testing method for substance misuse in the UK Courts system and we are pleased to make the science accessible to everyone.  The videos alongside other relevant clips can also be found on our YouTube channel or via our Facebook page.

Lorna Cservenka, head of the Child Care department at Hanne & Company’s London office, has been shortlisted for the title of Family Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards 2011.

Lorna was nominated for her work on the ground-breaking LB Richmond v B (2010) EWHC 2903 (Fam) child care case in which a mother stood to lose her children if she was found to be abusing alcohol.

Using dual-marker hair testing technology (FAEE and EtG) provided by Trimega Laboratories, Lorna succeeded in establishing that a single test conducted by another provider, which the provider said showed that the mother had been drinking, was flawed. The mother, whose children have been returned to her, wrote in support of Lorna’s nomination: “She believed what I was saying and was relentless in getting more information on hair strand testing and helping me challenge the results.”

A conclusion of the High Court judgment of the case last year was that only dual marker hair alcohol tests should be used for cases where hair analysis is applied. Dual hair testing provides very accurate results: at its annual conference in March, the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) confirmed that dual testing on hair for alcohol misuse provides accuracy rates of over 94%, with less than 1% risk of a false positive, and just 5.75% risk of a false negative. The SoHT’s consensus was based on analysis of Trimega’s data set of approximately 2,000 dual hair testing samples, the largest of its kind in the world.

Avi Lasarow, CEO of Trimega Laboratories, said: “We are delighted that Lorna was able to use our dual-marker hair testing methodology to prove that the mother in the case hadn’t been abusing alcohol, enabling the return of her children. We are also very pleased that the outcome of Lorna’s hard work led to the High Court statement that dual hair tests should be used for hair alcohol analysis. These tests play a very important role in the body of evidence that help courts make appropriate decisions for the welfare of our children.”

Trimega commercialised the technological breakthrough of analysing human hair samples for alcohol, firmly believing that just as hair testing had become accepted by the industry as the ‘gold standard’ for analysis of drug abuse, hair testing for alcohol would receive similar recognition once it had been shown to be very accurate. One of Trimega’s key achievements was being the first to market with dual marker hair alcohol testing. Hair testing can provide a picture of consumption of the previous 6 months. In contrast, traditional forms of testing, of urine and blood, can cover only the previous three days and four to six weeks, respectively.

Lorna is one of the three finalists in the Family Legal Aid Lawyer award category. The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held in London on the 28th June. The judging panel includes Cherie Booth QC (who will present the awards); Doreen Lawrence of the Stephen Lawrence Trust; legal journalist Joshua Rozenberg, Mr Justice Andrew McFarlane QC from the Family Division; and LAPG chair Roy Morgan.

The Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards are organised by the Legal Aid Practioner Group, an independent organisation that represents 450 firms and not for profit organisations involved in the provision of publicly funded legal services. The awards are non-profit making.

Trimega Laboratories will be sponsoring its second webcast on Thursday 17th February.  The live hour long session will start at 6pm with the focus being on alcohol abuse testing using hair following the findings of the Moylan Judgment Richmond v B. The event will be chaired by BBC correspondent Melanie Abbott with discussion from Professor Dr. Fritz Pragst, Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Heather Payne, Birmingham City Council Barrister David Brown & Forensic Toxicologist James Campbell.

For further information and details on how to register please click here

Today Trimega will be sponsoring a live webcast on alcohol testing.  The seminar will start at 6pm and will last one hour. It will be chaired by Alex Verdan QC and include discussion with barrister George Butler, family law barrister Jacqui Gilliatt, solicitor Lorna Cservenka & Professor Dr Fritz Pragst. This will give a cross section of  legal and scientific points of view on alcohol testing.

The purpose is discuss the use of  Hair Alcohol testing in UK courts.  To register interest please click here