Waiting times at Watford General Hospital have been reduced thanks to a piece of equipment.

Results of “full blood count” tests are vital for a quick diagnosis, and used to take an hour to process in the laboratory, but a new Horiba FBC analyser has cut that time to just two minutes.

Jo Nicholson, special haematology section manager said: “We are delighted with the new blood testing system.

“Not only has it reduced the waiting times for patients attending the A and E department, but it also frees up the biomedical scientist’s time to deal with other blood samples.”