Rossdales Laboratories marks first anniversary since moving into new and expanded lab facilities
Posted: 12th January 2021
Category: Practice News, Lab News, Practice Facilities
Although 2020 was a year that most people will probably want to put firmly behind them, it was in fact a landmark year for Rossdales Laboratories. After more than 50 years in the existing laboratory, a £1.9 million investment has enabled expansion of our Newmarket site to accommodate a new laboratory and staff facilities.
Work began in September 2019 and the lab team transferred into the new facilities exactly a year ago, providing a brand new reception and sample drop-off point, a newly refurbished building with an upgraded laboratory and air-handling facilities, a number of new cutting-edge analysers, and a new and improved car park. All of this, whilst remaining in the heart of Newmarket.
Following this move, we are delighted to have had our busiest year to date, processing almost 55,000 case submissions. We are pleased to have been able to keep our service running throughout the lockdowns, providing critical diagnostic support to our clients.
In addition to all of this, we have introduced a range of new diagnostic and surveillance tests, and provided some Covid-19 PCR testing. Unfortunately, due to limited capacity, we are unable to offer Covid testing widely as a commercial service; however, a fantastic team effort has meant that we have been able support a small number of our staff and some local businesses and charities.
The new laboratory was designed with future expansion in mind, but this is starting far sooner than we had anticipated. Following the sad closure of the AHT, we are currently undertaking an additional expansion, working in collaboration with some of the former AHT diagnostic team. This will include a dedicated virus isolation and tissue culture suite. We hope the new facility will be fully operational by the end of March 2021 but, in the meantime, we have established a temporary facility that has enabled us immediately to offer a range of key diagnostic and surveillance testing that were lost following closure of the AHT.
We would like to offer our genuine thanks to all of our clients for choosing to use our services. We hope we have been able to help you, and the animals you care for, through what have been challenging times for all, and that we will continue to do so for many years to come.
Details of our full range of diagnostic tests can be found here. To discuss how we can help you, contact our lab team on 01638 663017 or email laboratory@rossdales.com
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