19 August 2009
Chris Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell, visited West Park on 29 July to officially reopen the Trust's virology laboratory.
The laboratory, which forms part of the Trust's microbiology department, is used to test for viruses such as HIV and influenza - more recently - swine 'flu. It has been refurbished over the past five weeks, with the work costing £77,000.
The Trust's microbiology team carry out laboratory testing for Epsom General Hospital, local GPs, the Health Protection Agency, and Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinics. Specialist virology testing is carried out for the whole trust and a wide range of hospitals further afield.
The team test about 180,000 samples every year for infections such as tuberculosis (TB), MRSA, Clostridium difficile, Salmonella, Chlamydia, hepatitis and HIV.
Peter Coles, the Trust's interim Chief Executive, said: "We were delighted to welcome Chris to our laboratory at West Park.
"The staff here play an invaluable role in the fast and accurate diagnosis of a wide range of illnesses, helping us to start treating patients as quickly as possible. They have also been fundamental in our work to reduce healthcare acquired infections, like MRSA, at both Epsom and St Helier hospitals and, more recently, in diagnosing patients with swine 'flu.
"The refurbishment has given them the bright, modern and well-designed laboratory they need. What was even more impressive was that the refurbishment was carried out without interruption to the service provided by the laboratory; which required an enormous amount of planning and hard work by the whole team."
Mr Grayling was given a tour of the laboratory and shown how different testing procedures are used to provide diagnoses.
Chris Grayling MP said: "I was delighted to reopen the new laboratory for the medical team. It's a very important facility locally and I am always impressed at the professionalism which all the staff show towards their work. I wish them all the very best in their new lab."
