A state-of-the-art NHS laboratory has been officially opened by one of the country’s best-known athletes in a ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead. The new £12 million facility will provide clinical testing to patients across Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside, bringing world-class technology to hospitals and GPs across the region.
Baroness Grey Thompson, who now sits in the House of Lords, formally opened the new unit with the chairman of QE Gateshead Julie Hickey. Tanni Grey Thompson won 11 Paralympic medals and has won the famous Great North Run eight times – more than any other athlete.
The Pathology Centre is a new, state-of-the-art laboratory facility operating at the cutting edge of pathology testing services in the UK. The new specialist unit based at QE Gateshead contains some globally recognised new technology that provides health professionals with all the medical testing needed to run a modern hospital and deliver fast, accurate results for patients.
Baroness Grey Thompson said: “I was delighted to be asked to open the new pathology laboratory at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It is amazing to see such cutting-edge technology brought to the north-east and I am sure it can bring more benefits with it as the laboratory becomes more established. It is great to know that it has garnered interest from around the world and I think that is testament to the trusts getting together and making the new laboratory work.”
www.ibms.org/go/media/news,965