"Long wait for pathology."

Recently I needed to get a blood test urgently as I had a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon and needed my results for that appointment. I arrived at 7.40 am and there were already 4 people waiting. When the doors opened at 8.00 am there were at least 20 people waiting. A lot of these people were elderly or pregnant. I had my blood test after about a 40 minute wait (I was fourth in line but pregnant women requiring glucose test jump the queue which is obviously required for clinical reasons).

My concern is that people that are unwell or pregnant have to queue up (a lot of the time in the corridor standing up outside pathology) which I would have thought is very inconvenient when you are feeling unwell and would increase the risk of spreading infections. I didn’t think that part of the service was customer centred. The pathology staff were lovely and very professional.