King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Laboratory Extends Opening Hours

Bermuda Hospitals Board announces today that it is extending the opening hours of its laboratory at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH). From Monday 31 August, people who require blood or urine tests will have an additional hour at the end of the day to fit in their test, or can attend a walk-in service on Saturday morning. Initially the new hours will run as a pilot, but they will be made permanent if successful.

The new hours are Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm by appointment, with a walk-in service on Saturday between 8am to 11am. Previously, the lab closed to out-patients at 4pm on weekdays and did not open at weekends. The Laboratory is accredited by Joint Commission International, the international arm of the leading American accreditation body.

Kathy Stephens, Pathology Manager, comments: “We want to make access to important health tests easier for people. By staying open until 5pm on the weekday, we want to give people greater flexibility for fitting their tests into a busy day. The Saturday morning walk-in service will provide an option for people who really can’t make time in the week. Offering testing on six days of the week will also be more convenient for people who have time-sensitive tests, such as fertility tests.”

“We want to open at times that are convenient to people and we will be monitoring the demand for our new hours over the coming weeks,” adds Ms Stephens. “We are letting the community know of the pilot to ensure that the new hours are given a fair chance. If people find them useful then we will make them permanent. Our goal is to build our service around the hours people need. Having a health test can feel stressful, but with our new hours, we hope organising time for them will be less of a headache.”

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