• Lab tours offer children the chance to see behind the scenes at Royal Bolton Hospital
• Harvey’s Lab Tours initiative aim to ease anxiety and highlight the work of scientists
• Each tour is tailored to the individual needs of the young patient

Children visiting or staying at Royal Bolton Hospital are to be offered the chance to see behind the scenes and step into the world of the hospital’s testing laboratories.

Young patients will be invited to have a tour of the labs to help them and their families feel more at ease by meeting the hospital’s biomedical science staff who analyse hundreds of daily tests to help diagnose illnesses.

The initiative is known as ‘Harvey’s Lab Tours’, started by a biomedical scientist in blood transfusion, Malcom Robinson, who was asked to give a tour of his laboratory to Harvey Baldwin, a 7-year-old boy who was undergoing treatment for leukaemia at Worthing Hospital.

Harvey’s Lab Tours aim to help young patients to:

• Understand the importance of their blood tests and other samples.
• Meet the biomedical scientists who work behind the scenes.
• Feel more confident and in control of their healthcare journey.

Rowena Perry, Laboratory Medicine Training and Development Manager at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said:

Coming into hospital when you’re young can feel overwhelming and we know they may have lots of questions about what’s happening.

“These tours are a great way of us helping to ease some of that anxiety by offering a chance to see where their test samples are sent to and understand more about what our team of scientists are doing to help.

“We’ll be able to show young patients around our different laboratories as we analyse samples that play a really important role in diagnosing illnesses and making sure people receive the right care and treatment.

Families who are interested can reach out to the hospital’s Play Specialists, who will help facilitate visits with the lab teams to ensure the visit to tailored appropriately to individual needs.

Christopher Hall, Biomedical Scientist at the Trust, said:

Our work in laboratories touches the lives of so many people, including our young patients.

“By opening the doors to our labs we’re able to take children through step by step how we’re investigating tests to help make sure people get the treatment and care they need to get better.

“We hope that children and their parents will find comfort in seeing how healthcare science works, reducing anxiety and perhaps even inspiring children by encouraging them to ask questions and get involved in science.

Harvey’s Lab Tours is ran by the Institute of Biomedical Science. To find out more, visit their website.