PLANS for a £multi-million state-of-the-art laboratory to house a new pathology service in Taunton have been unveiled this week.

The announcement follows Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's decision to choose Integrated Pathology Partnerships as the preferred bidder to help deliver improved pathology services across the county.

Pathology is the process of analysing human tissue specimines from patients to diagnose diseases.

It will cost around £2million to integrate the service in an existing building near the M5 and the service will be designed to allow high quality and efficient processing of routine and non-urgent testing.

An essential services laboratory will be located at Musgrove Park and Yeovil hospitals to ensure all urgent and essential tests remain on-site.

The collaboration between the trusts and iPP, which is in the final stages of completion, will result in a joint venture with the view of delivering a full range of laboratory services.

It is hoped the partnership, which is expected to last 20 years, will provide healthcare for a population of 500,000 along with more than 100 GP practices in the area.

The venture has been structured to allow other trusts in the region to join the collaboration and benefit from investment in the new service.

Jo Cubbon, chief executive of Taunton and Somerset NHSFT, said: “This is a good deal for the NHS.

“It enables both Yeovil and Musgrove Park hospitals to benefit from greater investment in pathology, which will help our patients for years to come.

“We are delighted to have iPP as our preferred bidder.”

A spokesman for Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said there will not be additional jobs at the start of the contract but there will be new positions available if the business grows.

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