This week, the newly refurbished Immunology and Emergency Department (ED) laboratories at St George’s Hospital were officially opened by Trust Managing Director Kate Slemeck and Chief Operating Officer Anne Brierley. A ribbon cutting was held at each laboratory and Kate and Anne were given a tour around the refurbished spaces by laboratory staff.
The Immunology and Protein Reference Unit laboratories at St George’s Hospital have undergone significant redevelopment to prepare for the move of Epsom and Helier Immunology services to St George’s Hospital and the consolidation of the two teams. A large, open-plan laboratory has been created by knocking through old laboratory spaces and offices to create a sleek and modern laboratory. The design incorporates the flow of work coming through the laboratory to maximise the space and streamline processes.
The ED laboratory at St George’s Hospital helps to manage the flow of patients through ED and to facilitate faster results to support quicker diagnoses. The laboratory needed to be made bigger to allow for a new analyser, which tests patient samples, as the current analyser was struggling to cope with the volume of samples, particularly at peak times. The new equipment has less downtime, making the service more robust.
South West London Pathology Managing Director Simon Brewer says, “Our teams in Immunology and the ED laboratory have worked really hard to create these fantastic working spaces, which will benefit the millions of patients we serve.
“It was great to be able to show off these spaces to Kate and Anne and to give the laboratory staff a chance to showcase what they do and the impact their work has. I know how impressed they both were, and this is a reflection on the dedication and commitment of the teams in the laboratories.”
