NSW Health Pathology staff are excited to be moving into the new high-tech pathology laboratory and collection centre at Tweed Valley Hospital.
A key feature of Tweed Valley Hospital’s $723.3 million redevelopment, the lab is four times the size of the old lab and features the latest cutting-edge technology, making it future-proofed to meet the growing demands of the region.
Laboratory Manager Owen Van Eck said the new laboratory has been designed and built to meet the current and future needs of the growing Tweed-Byron community, and will bring enormous benefits to the region.
“The scientists, pathologists and technical staff working in our laboratories are critical to most aspects of clinical decision-making in a hospital. Ensuring they have state-of-art equipment and infrastructure is central to the efficient provision of clinical services,” Owen said.
“The expanded footprint and new equipment will improve the way staff work in the laboratory and carry out pathology testing, which is crucial in detecting, diagnosing and treating disease, as well as an important aspect of managing long-term medical conditions”.
The contemporary configuration creates opportunities for automation, streamlining of testing, and for interaction between specialties that are increasingly relying on molecular technologies.
“The laboratory is ideally positioned on the lower ground floor next to the Emergency Department (ED) – enhancing clinical interactions for staff and our patients – and will allow us to provide rapid turnaround times for services to critical parts of the hospital campus, such as ED, maternity, ICU and the cancer services,” Owen said.
This means patients and clinicians will be able to access critical patient results and blood products when they need them urgently.
There is also a larger networked pneumatic tube system (like a chute) with dedicated ED “fast lane” to expedite urgent ED specimens directly into the laboratory.
A new pathology outpatient collection service is located within outpatients to improve the patient experience.
The new lab provides a range of services for Tweed Valley Hospital including:
- Expert clinical consultation and advice
- Diagnostic testing – including haematology, chemical pathology, transfusion, microbiology, molecular biology, immunology and enhanced anatomical pathology, including histopathology
- Open plan core laboratory with direct access to specimen reception improving workflow and access to patient results
- Point of Care testing
- An inpatient and outpatient collection service
- Teaching and training for medical staff, medical students, pathology trainees and hospital scientists
- Facilitating research across the Local Health District.
The Tweed Valley Hospital laboratory operates 24/7 and processes around 16,000 clinical and scientific investigations each month.
Temporary service changes to outpatient collections during relocation
During the transition, both the current laboratory at The Tweed Hospital and the new laboratory at Tweed Valley Hospital will be operating on Tuesday 14 May 2024 while patients are transferred to the new hospital.
The outpatient collection centre at The Tweed Hospital will close at 3.30pm on Thursday 9 May 2024. It will then be closed from Friday 10 May– Monday 13 May while the teams and equipment are relocated to the new Tweed Valley Hospital.
If any outpatients need a pathology collection between Friday 10 May – Monday 13 May, please visit other pathology providers in the region.
Outpatient pathology collection services will reopen at the new Tweed Valley Hospital on Wednesday 15 May 2024.
Thank you for your understanding.
New contact details
From Wednesday 15 May, you will find the collection service located on the ground floor at Outpatients (Ambulatory Care).
Phone: 02 6677 2468 and Fax: 02 6677 3690. Opening hours: 7:00am – 3.30pm, Monday to Friday. Closed Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.
The laboratory is located on the lower ground floor and operates 24 hours, 7 days a week. Phone: 02 6677 3660 and Fax: 02 6677 3692.
