A new breast cancer test at Worcestershire Royal Hospital is dramatically cutting waiting times.

The test, new in the county’s hospitals, has reduced the time doctors need to wait before being able to decide the best treatment to give patients, from three weeks to just two days.

Previously, doctors needed to send tests to a laboratory in Birmingham to decide the best treatment.

Now, the work can be completed by the Histology department of Worcestershire Royal.

Steven Thrush, consultant breast surgeon at Worcestershire Royal said: “We are

delighted with the introduction of this test because it results in a significant reduction in turnaround time. This benefits patients because it allows treatment plans and actual treatment to start earlier.”

The test has national accreditation after an inspection from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, and internal verification has given the test a 100 per cent accuracy rate.

Mandeep Deo, the specialist Biomedical Scientist who introduced the test at the Royal, said: “We used to outsource this test to a specialist centre with a long turnaround time and a hefty price implication. Now we turn this test around within a couple of days and it is significantly cheaper for the Trust.”

Dr Sarah Littleford, consultant histopathologist, said: “This is yet

another example of how flexible and innovative the histology department is at

Worcestershire Royal. “We are extremely proud of the development and hope to

expand the service to new diagnostic tests in the future.”