In February, 30 GCSE science students accompanied by two lecturers from Sir Thomas More Catholic School, Purley visited SWLP’s labs at Croydon Hospital as part of their school science project.
Fred Mpambire, SWLP Croydon spoke site manager, said: “We gave them a complete tour of our labs – biochemistry, haematology, as well as pathology sample reception showing the booking in process for the approx. 3,000 samples we get each day and a general overview of lab IT including how we test results and transmission to clinics and GPs. They also got to see other general lab areas such as the cold rooms and sample archives.
“It was a busy day with lots to explain and loads of questions to answer. We’ve run these visits for a number of years and they’re really good fun. As well as getting to see the automated lab equipment we also explain and demonstrate techniques in front of them.
“This might be the first time they’ve been to a working lab so it’s a chance for us to show them the wide range of work that goes on in a lab and what it’s really like to work in a hospital laboratory.”