Helping young patients understand their healthcare
Harvey’s Lab Tours give young patients and their families a chance to step behind the laboratory doors and see first-hand what happens to their samples.
These visits can ease children’s fears, offer reassurance, and help them feel more confident and informed about their healthcare.
Tours are led by NHS biomedical scientists who generously volunteer their time to take part in the programme. By opening the doors to their work, they are reminded of the vital role they play in delivering patient care.
Why Harvey’s Lab Tours?
A tour of the laboratory can transform how young patients and their families view their healthcare. For children, it’s a rare chance to step behind the scenes and connect the dots between the tests they have and the treatment they receive.
Visits to the lab 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
For families, it’s a chance to to ask questions in an informal setting, learn more about the testing process, and see the care that goes into every result. These moments can make hospital visits feel less daunting, strengthen trust in the care team, and help everyone feel more connected to the journey ahead.
Biomedical scientists also value these visits, as meeting the patients behind the samples brings a human connection to their work. It helps strengthen ties with their clinical colleagues by encouraging collaboration and creating a shared understanding of how each team’s role supports patient care.
I feel braver now when I have my blood taken at hospital. I enjoyed wearing a white lab coat, writing out a blood test label, and finding lots of different equipment around the lab. At the end, I got a special certificate and a Harvey teddy, and I took them to school to show my teachers and friends in assembly!
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Harvey’s Lab Tours don’t just benefit the children—they also give staff the chance to meet the young patients behind the samples, connect with families, and see the impact of their work firsthand.
If you’re a parent interested in arranging a tour for your child, or a laboratory looking to host future tours, please complete our online form.
Please note
This form is for parents of young patients and for laboratories interested in hosting tours.
We are unable to offer tours for students, graduates or members of the public.
Our story
Where it all began
In 2013, Malcolm Robinson, a biomedical scientist in blood transfusion at Western Sussex NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust, was asked to give a tour of his laboratory to seven year old Harvey Baldwin. Harvey, receiving treatment for leukaemia at Worthing Hospital, was curious to know exactly what happened to his blood samples.
Malcolm arranged a special visit, presenting Harvey with his very own lab coat and naming him ‘Trainee Scientist’. Harvey explored the lab’s equipment, asked questions to the the staff, and even got to watch his own blood sample being processed. The visit gave Harvey and his parents a clearer understanding of his care, and it made a lasting impression on the lab team. Many of them had never met a patient whose samples they handled so often.
In Harvey’s memory
Inspired by Harvey’s curiosity, Malcolm began arranging similar visits for other children. The initiative was originally known as Harvey’s Gang, and by 2018, 40 laboratories across the UK were offering tours. By the end of 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, that number had grown to around 100 sites.
Hundreds of young patients had now stepped into the lab, met the scientists behind the scenes, and watched their own samples being analysed. Each visit ends the same way, with children receiving a goody bag, a certificate of attendance, and, of course, their very own lab coat to take home.
These tours have become valuable not just for the children and their families, but also for hospital staff. They help strengthen relationships between pathology and the wards, improve communication with patients and parents, and bring teams closer together.
New beginnings
In April 2023, as Malcolm retired and the charity was dissolved, the trustees entrusted the IBMS to carry Harvey’s legacy forward.
As the new custodians, we are committed to expanding access to these tours so more children (and more IBMS members) can benefit. In 2024, In 2024, the initiative was renamed Harvey’s Lab Tours and given a refreshed logo, designed to reflect its core purpose and bring clarity and positivity to the children and families we support.
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