New ‘mini laboratory’ for West Cumberland Hospital theatres

A new ‘mini laboratory’ for West Cumberland Hospital theatres has been launched.

The North Cumbria Hospitals NHS Charity purchased a £35,000 ‘little box’ point of care testing analyser.

Ludger Barthelmes, Consultant Surgeon said“Parathyroidectomy operations are undertaken when one or more of the parathyroid glands are enlarged. This drives calcium out of the bones and can lead to number of complications including osteoporosis, low impact fractures and kidney stones.

“During the procedure, testing of the parathyroid hormone is required to check that all the necessary tissue has been removed. Prior to the analyser being in place, this involved blood samples being taken and analysed at the busy main laboratories. This took around 40 minutes which doubled operating times and meant that patients could take longer to recover. The new point of care analyser can do this within 5 minutes.”

North Cumbria Hospitals NHS Charity is fortunate to benefit from many kind donations from the West Cumbrian community. This charitable purchase has been possible thanks to a legacy from the late Leonard Atkinson.