KEMH Celebrates Laboratory Week with Open House

The Department of Pathology at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) will mark National Laboratory Week with an Open House on Wednesday, April 22.

Students from the island’s schools will visit the lab and participate in interactive activities and demonstrations. Members of the public are invited to tour the lab from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Staff will conduct tours, provide displays and set up information along “Laboratory Alley.”

The Department of Pathology plays a vital role in the timely diagnosis and treatment of illness, providing over 70% of information in a patient’s medical record. The results of laboratory tests often identify the presence of disease in its earliest stages, when the possibilities of a cure are greatest and when treatment is least costly.

Greg Shaw, Senior Technologist Transfusion Services, invites the community to learn more about the work of the department. “Our staff have access to the newest technology and provide physicians with essential information for the treatment of medical conditions. Accurate and timely test results play a crucial role in patient care, both in the diagnoses and prevention of disease,” said Mr. Shaw.

KEMH’s Department of Pathology is the only full-service clinical and anatomic laboratory in the community and the only facility to be granted accreditation by Joint Commission International. Operating around the clock, the lab provides comprehensive services that include blood transfusion, histopathology, cytopathology, haematology, chemistry and microbiology.

“We are really medical detectives,” adds Mr. Shaw. “Clues to illness and disease are discovered by analyzing blood and tissue samples. We provide physicians with the evidence they need to diagnose and treat patients.”

Pathology services are extensive:
• Haematology and transfusion average about 4000 outpatient and 1000 inpatient tests per month.
• Chemistry processes approximately 6750 specimens each month.
• About 127 autopsies are performed each year.
• Histolopathology handles 5500 specimens per year.
• The blood donor centre collects about 2,600 donations annually and supports the island’s need for blood products.
• Cytology processes 6200 specimens per year.

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