The blood test department at St Mary’s Hospital will be relocating from Monday (31st October) from its current location on Level B to the North Hospital.
The temporary relocation is part of a wider programme of work that will see £38million of improvements made to the Isle of Wight NHS Trust that will improve the quality of the Island’s NHS services.
To ensure the smooth transfer of this department to its temporary location, all blood testing at the current phlebotomy department on Level B at St Mary’s will stop at 11:00 on Friday (28th October) and resume at 07:30 on Monday (31st October) in the new North Hospital location.
If patients do need to attend the hospital it is recommended that they use the North Car Park, which is signposted from the main entrance to St Mary’s. Drop-off spaces and disabled parking are available at this location.
The temporary relocation will mean that the blood testing department will have reduced waiting room and blood testing capacity. Routine and non-urgent blood tests should continue to be carried out by the patient’s GP surgery, wherever possible. More information about where to get your blood test can be found on the Isle of Wight NHS Trust’s website.
This investment programme of work, called Investing in Our Future, will improve patient care and health outcomes, reduce waiting times and bed occupancy, and transform community and mental health services on the Island.
Always like being in purgatory in that place waiting for a test. Not enough staff. I joke not but if you live in cowes, it’s quicker to go to Southampton for a blood test than to the hospital here.
Another idiotic management decision then. Are they moving the testing lab too, nope. Who ever is in charge at that department needs to do some work as well, but then again like all managers up there they just love to hide away, can’t handle the complaints, just let the real staff get moaned at instead.
Yet another department relocating to the north hospital, bringing more pressure on the car park and more stress to the patient with mobility problems. We can only hope that the ‘expert managers’ are organising the provision of wheelchairs and porters to push them and negotiating with southern vectis to get a bus stop in place. Many a person can manage independently but just can’t do the long haul up the corridor.
Always had excellent service from this department. Ignore the whingers above.
I wasn’t wingeing about the service – just about where it is and how difficult it is for patients to get there
100% agree… Not enough parking, really poor wheelchair acess ( unless you want the long struggle up the ‘walk of shame’ . Bad move IMO.
Last time I went to North Hospital, no problem parking, but the entrance was locked.. !! Could only be opened from the inside !!
Perhaps they should spend 35 million on bed blockers and mark my words I’ll still be saying this in 5 years time and even longer
I was there today. They’re going from 5 cubicles to 3 in a much smaller space where privacy and confidentiality will go out the window as the waiting area will be right outside the cubicle curtains. How is this an improvement?
Staff are excellent doing a hard job under difficult circumstances. However, less room to wait and less staff will make it even harder for them to give a service, reopen closed units or run a temporary one from Westridge? Our GPs are closing for 3 years so forced into Newport in any event.