An innovative video following the journey of a blood sample was viewed by visitors at Cootamundra Hospital during International Pathology Day on Wednesday.
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Donning virtual reality tour head-sets patients took a tour of what happens to their blood after being collected by nurses.
The film gave a fascinating insight into the highly specialised work local scientists and technical assistants do every day to ensure patients get the answers and treatment they need.
Cootamundra local Kerry Duggan went on a virtual reality tour of the process her blood goes through when she has a test at Health NSW Pathology.
“I found it very interesting,” she said. “I didn’t realise that a lot of it happens right here in Cootamundra.”
NSW Health Pathology operates the world’s largest accredited point of care testing program with over 550 devices across 180 NSW hospitals and is the first pathology collection centre inside the medical centre at Cootamundra Hospital.
The collection centre and laboratory based at Cootamundra Hospital is part of NSW Health Pathology, Australia’s largest provider of public pathology with more than 60 laboratories, 200 collection services and 4500 staff.
“Eighty percent of blood work collected here is processed in our local laboratory in the building next door,” Cootamundra Pathology Laboratory’s supervising scientist Rebecca Perry said.
“If patients are going into hospital here, doctors have immediate access to pathology results from our local lab,” she said.
People working in laboratories are a critical part of our healthcare system providing the answers that matter for all of us.
Some 70 per cent of medical decisions rely on pathology.
Results from pathology tests, including blood tests and biopsies, give doctors the information they need to correctly diagnose and treat patients.
Every Australian receives their first pathology test just days after they're born. Half the Australian population will have a test this year.
The NSW Health Pathology laboratory at Cootamundra Hospital has state-of-the-art equipment to analyse blood samples and provide important data to doctors.
They offer a range of expert pathology tests in chemistry, haematology, coagulation, microbiology and transfusion.
“Depending on the complexity of test, basic tests get processed at the laboratory onsite, more complex tests go to Wagga and specialised tests go to Sydney,” Mrs Perry said.
NSW Health Pathology has been providing services to the Cootamundra community from their onsite lab since 1987 and currently have a team of eight including specialist scientists and technicians.
“We are here to make sure our patients get the diagnosis and treatment they need when they need it,” Mrs Perry said.
In 2018/19, the NSW Government has invested $600m in NSW Health Pathology to ensure the people of NSW have access to a public pathology service.
The Cootamundra collection centre is open weekdays 7.30am to 4.50pm; Temora collection centre is open weekdays 7.30am to 11.30am.
The Cootamundra laboratory is open 7.30am to 5pm and also provides a 24 hour on-call service for urgent diagnostic care.
