The unseen backroom staff of local hospitals are celebrating a special awareness week which aims to highlight the important work they perform in healthcare.

Pathology Awareness Week runs from 3-9 November 2008 and the Pathology Directorate at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Chorley and South Ribble Hospital and Royal Preston Hospital, aims to highlight its work during the week.

According to the Department of Health, 70 per cent of all diagnoses depend on pathology. The Departments at Chorley and South Ribble and Royal Preston Hospitals provide services for the two hospitals plus 70 primary care surgeries and 200 local GPs.

The Pathology Directorate has state-of-the art laboratories that provide services that range from simple blood tests and blood transfusions to specialist microbiology and neuropathology tests.

Dr Martin Myers, Clinical Director of Pathology, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Pathology is the lynchpin of healthcare. In a year we will conduct ½ million tests plus 50,000 surgical biopsies and cervical samples, perform 850 autopsies and we are involved in numerous research projects. These include undertaking brain tumour cultures, evaluating respiratory tumours as well as gynaecological, prostate and cancer pathologies.

“Our labs are among the best and most advanced in the world and provide a 24-hour, round the clock service.

“We also conduct other work regarding food, water and environmental services and work closely with the Health Protection Agency. This work has seen us test cooked sandwich meats for bacteria and during the summer we also take pollen counts to aid weather reports.”

He added: “Pathology Awareness Week will provide a great opportunity for the general public and healthcare workers to find out more about pathology and the many services that we undertake.”