MP enjoys tour of hospital labs

Clinical Director for Laboratory Medicine, Dr Kathryn Brownbill, gave the Labour MP a tour that explored the blood transfusion, haematology, biochemistry, microbiology and histopathology departments.All departments provide a diverse range of techniques to enable clinical decision making, including cancer diagnosis, disease prevention, treatment and monitoring.Mrs Cooper witnessed intricate manual processes through to large scale automated systems with robotic tracking of samples, enabling a high throughput of blood samples.She said: “Contrary to public perception pathology is all about informing the care of live patients.“I have gained a far better understanding and now recognise that this really is the science behind the cure. “I was very impressed by the dedicated team of professionals who work so hard behind the scenes.”Dr Brownbill said the visit coincided with Biomedical Science Day, which aims to raise public awareness, as well as celebrate and promote the significant work of biomedical scientists such as diagnosis, treatment and research.She added: “We were delighted to offer Julie the opportunity to understand the vital role of biomedical scientists in producing high quality test results that enable accurate and timely decisions to be taken on patient care.“If you have had a blood test or biopsy a scientist will have been involved in your care.”