Pathology and Pharmacy getting ready to move in

The ground floor of the new Theatres block will be home to our Pathology and Pharmacy departments who will move across from the main hospital once the new building is ready.

Chris Howard, Senior Project Lead for the RAAC Programme, said: “Both our Pathology and Pharmacy departments are looking at the final design stage to move across to the new development which, upon receiving final approval, will provide the teams with fantastic new facilities which will benefit staff and patients for the future.”

Pathology

Matthew Smith, Pathology Services Manager, has been working with the Redevelopment Project Team to design the initial plans for our future Pathology Department.

He said: “This is an exciting opportunity for our team to get involved with what our future Pathology Department will look like and to create laboratory facilities fit for the future and that we can be proud of. We are looking to create an environment which will be a great place to work, with expanded opportunities to train our future pathology staff. We have looked at lots of options and hope to create a layout which will utilise the space efficiently, enable us to have state-of-the-art equipment and provide opportunities for service developments over the coming years.”

The design is currently being reviewed and once approved, building could begin shortly and be completed by the end of the year.

Pharmacy

Adam Smith, Deputy Chief Pharmacist, is keen to develop facilities that will enable his team to utilise their space, whilst achieving efficiencies and making the department more accessible for all.

He said: “It has been great to look at a wish list and incorporate changes which will benefit our staff and patients. Our pharmacy robot is 10 years old now and technology has changed so much in that time that we are really excited to have a new robot, which will speed up the dispensing process. We hope to create a dedicated consultation room which will be dementia and autism-friendly, so if any of our patients are struggling then they have somewhere to go where they can feel safe. We want to make pharmacy as accessible as possible, not just for our patients, but for our staff as well, so we are looking at installing hearing loops and lowering the dispensing hatch to accommodate all.”