Public Health England (PHE) and North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) will today officially open the Severn Pathology laboratory building at Southmead Hospital, bringing together laboratory services as part of the hospital’s Science Quarter.
The official opening of the building is part of a day-long event showcasing how science is revolutionising healthcare and to highlight the broad extent of clinical research that takes place every day.
The multi-million pound, four storey building houses NBT’s cellular pathology, neuropathology, genetics and microbiology services and will accommodate PHE’s pathology services and is part of the Science Quarter, which brings together NBT, PHE and the University of Bristol.
The laboratory within the building processes samples sent from local hospitals, including Southmead, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol) and the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust (RUH).
Services provided include virology and neonatal screening for the whole of the South West. The lab also provides national services for mycology, antimicrobials, cholinesterase and some specialist testing in blood sciences, primary care and private NHS treatment centres.
Research from the laboratory services is published and respected worldwide. Recently scientists in the Antibiotic resistance reference lab have been advising the UK Rapid Response Team in Madagascar, who since the end of 2017 have been supporting the local authorities in treating patients with the plague.
Jonathan Turner, Regional Head of Laboratory Operations said:
“It’s great to be officially opening the building today after many years of design and development, and be able to offer a fully integrated pathology service for the city of Bristol and to continue to provide services for much of the South West.
“The bringing together of North Bristol NHS Trust, Public Health England and the University of Bristol is already having a real impact globally, nationally and locally by improving public health and treatment outcomes for patients.”
David Gibbs, Pathology Services Director said:
“Designing this building gave us the opportunity to incorporate the latest technology, which has enabled us to maximise efficiency which benefits service users and patients.
“We are proud of these facilities and how they enable us to work closely with our partners and it is great to be marking that with our official opening.”
Further information about the services offered by Severn Pathology can be found here - https://www.nbt.nhs.uk/severn-pathology