A new Blood Sciences Laboratory at Royal Brompton Hospital, the most advanced of its kind in Europe, will offer faster and more accurate results through a streamlined, contamination-free testing process.

Opened on 5 November by former BBC Television's 'Apprentice' advisor Margaret Mountford, the new lab offers a unique showcase for a number of innovations that have not been available before in a single facility. It will ensure:

• Twenty-four hour access to test results allowing quicker diagnosis and treatment for patients;
• Improved use of instruments saving money needed for equipment maintenance;
• More efficient use of staff time, space and revenue; and
• Enhanced record keeping as systems at the new lab eliminates paper requests.

Leading the new laboratory, Dr James Hooper, divisional director for laboratory medicine at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, said:

"We wish to improve services to patients by embracing new technology. Working closely with Beckman-Coulter UK, a medical diagnostics company, the Trust has refurbished existing laboratory facilities to bring specialities together into one state-of-the-art facility to improve patient care and make services more efficient. This means many more tests can be done using fewer blood samples from patients."

Blood tests are vital to determining a patient's treatment plan since over 70 per cent of conditions are diagnosed through them.

For more information on the new laboratory's multifunctional equipment and facilities, download the full announcement.

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