Boost for bug testing centre

THE decision to staff a bug sample analysis department round the clock has dramatically improved testing times.

NHS Lothian switched its bacteriology department in April 2009 to cope with the number of samples coming for testing, and analysis revealed turnaround time has reduced by 16 per cent for tests for infections including MRSA. The service processes more than 500,000 samples a year and with the 65-member team now working round the clock it has made things more efficient.

Clinical manager Mike Gray said: "The team were finding it difficult to get the samples done in a typical day, and it was meaning a lot of working outside normal hours.

"By moving to a 24-hour pattern, there is always someone available to process a sample.

"By getting the results quicker, everyone else in the hospital can do their respective jobs quicker, too."