Ollie’s Lab Tour at Poole Hospital

But what happens after those blood samples leave the ward?

A recent lab tour at Poole Hospital gave Ollie the chance to follow their journey for himself, seeing how samples are booked onto the laboratory system and learning where and how they are processed to produce the results his healthcare team needs.

Putting his questions to the experts

Ollie arrived with a lot of questions for the laboratory team, including some that required a little investigation!

“How many blood tests have I had?” and “How many blood groups are there?” were among the things he wanted to know, with the team on hand throughout the tour to explain their work and answer his questions.

There were lots of activities for Ollie to try for himself, too. He got stuck in with some of the science behind laboratory testing, including spinning blood samples, testing acid and alkaline levels and using a microscope. He also learned more about the different blood groups.

For a young patient who is very familiar with having blood taken, the tour offered a chance to see a different side of a process that has been part of his healthcare for so long.

Seeing blood tests differently

Ollie’s mum, Steph, hopes that understanding more about what happens to his samples will help him with his fears around blood tests in the future.

She said:

Hopefully this experience will help him overcome his fears in the future and the opportunity for these tours will be great for future children on the ward.

Thank you for having us. Ollie loved the goodie bag too – the bear is so soft! – and being able to keep his white lab coat.

A big thank you to the team at Poole Hospital for welcoming Ollie into the laboratory, answering his many questions and giving him the opportunity to experience some biomedical science for himself.