Hospital pathology service opens

The new department will improve diagnostic and testing services

Work on a revamped £3.4m pathology service at a Northamptonshire hospital is nearing completion.

Kettering General Hospital has opened a newly-built £1.2m cellular pathology department to improve its blood, urine and diagnostic testing service.

The new expanded facilities are also more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Phase two of the programme will see new immunology, microbiology biochemistry, and haematology departments.

The two-phase refurbishment programme began in January, and work should be completed by September 2009.

Cellular pathology manager James Maclean said: "The hospital has needed to expand and update its pathology department for some time - partly because of a lack of space and partly to cope with the ever increasing demand for diagnostic tests from the growing local population.

"We want to continue to speed up the diagnostic testing processes and make sure that they are done in the highest quality environment for our staff."