Barts Health to receive a robot to speed up covid test results
Barts Health is soon set to receive a machine that will automate the handling of patient samples, so they can be processed much faster.
The Hamilton Microlab Star, kindly donated by Daily Mail readers as part of the Mail Force charity, is able to extract the possible covid-19 virus from a swab test and turn it into a liquid for testing. The machine, known as a pipetting robot, then automatically pipettes the liquid into a testing machine, a process which is usually done by hand.
The robot can run all day and through the night and will expand the capacity for processing samples, as well as freeing up staff to do other diagnostic work in the laboratory.
Alwen Williams, Group Chief Executive of Barts Health NHS Trust, said:
Barts Health cares for some of the most deprived parts of East London, and on behalf of our staff and the communities we work for and with, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Daily Mail readers for their enormous generosity.
This donation will not only make a difference to the lives of our patients who rely on timely Covid-19 test results ahead of their planned surgery but also to our incredible staff who are working around the clock to deliver safe care in these challenging times.
The donation was featured in an article in the Daily Mail about how the Mail Force campaign is supporting hospitals.