YOUNG hospital patients and college students have been given a behind-the-scenes peek at a vital part of Herefordshire's NHS.

Matilda Smith, who is four years old and lives in Hereford, is one of a group of young patients who had a look around the pathology laboratory at Hereford County Hospital on November 7, as part of the Harvey’s Gang Tour, a registered charity that helps children to have an understanding of illness and the necessity to give blood samples.

The tours give young patients an opportunity to see where their blood sample goes after it has been taken, and how their doctor will get the results back to know how to treat them. They see which machines it goes on and even have a look at what blood cells look like down a microscope.

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Matilda’s grandpa, who previously worked in a hospital lab as a biomedical scientist, has inspired her to find out more.

A group of Hereford Sixth Form College students also went behind the scenes at the laboratory to understand the work of the biomedical scientists who process and validate patient samples and manage the testing facilities.

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National Pathology Week (November 4 to 10) is an annual celebration of pathology to highlight the important contribution pathologists make to healthcare. 70 per cent of diagnoses in the NHS are based on pathology results provided by laboratory services.

Trust cellular pathology and microbiology manager Andrea Johnson said: “This has been a great opportunity to spend time with the young patients and students helping to increase their awareness and understanding of pathology, and spark their interest in science as a future career. It can also help children and younger people who need to have a test, such as for a blood or urine sample, if they understand where the sample goes to be tested, and how and why it is tested."

Phil Evans, careers adviser from Hereford Sixth Form College said: “This is a great opportunity for our students to gain a real understanding of some of the remarkable technology that is used in a medical laboratory and of how biomedical science underpins modern healthcare.”