Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust shares incredible time-lapse footage of new St James's Hospital pathology lab taking shape

A topping-out ceremony was held on Tuesday, November 8, marking the milestone by signing the concrete stair core of the building. Several members of pathology staff were invited to celebrate the completion of the highest point of the build and to see where they will be working in the future.

Footage captured by the trust’s time-lapse camera shows the roof structure being completed and covering the lift and stair cores.

As well as supporting improvements in diagnosis for people across the region, the new laboratory will help to meet the growing regional demand for specialist treatment and care whilst providing development opportunities for staff.

Based at St James’s Hospital, the new facility will be part of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network, formed through the collaboration with the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) and will support the delivery of pathology services across West Yorkshire and Harrogate.

Dr Phil Wood, chief medical officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, said: “We are incredibly proud to reach this significant milestone in the construction of our new pathology laboratory.

“To be able to stand on the roof and see the building taking shape has been really exciting and means we are one step closer to realising our ambition to drive collaboration across multiple trusts in our region and support improvements in specialist and routine diagnostic testing for all our patients, right across West Yorkshire and Harrogate.

“It’s going to be a fantastic working space for our staff, with cutting edge technologies paving the way for more innovative and transformative pathology services supporting both primary and secondary care delivery.

“We can’t wait to welcome everyone back here to celebrate the grand opening!”

With much of the pre-fabrication happening off-site, BAM Construction have been able to maximise efficiencies in its programme delivery and reduce waste, supporting the Trust’s sustainability and net zero carbon ambitions.

Paul Cleminson, BAM Pre-Construction Director, said: “This is an important scheme for us at BAM. We value our strong partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Digital techniques are assisting us with the precision of our work, co-ordinating the supply chain’s contributions, and preserving valuable data for others later on in operating the building.

“Human input here is fantastic too, with hundreds of local people having worked on the scheme already. We have created 78 weeks of apprentice learning on site, conducted workshops with local academies and placements for local students."

Building completion is planned for the end of summer 2023 with pathology services then transferring throughout 2023 and 2024, becoming fully operational following the installation of new, high-tech equipment.

Currently, the majority of the Trust’s pathology services are provided from outdated facilities in the Old Medical School at the LGI and from St James’s Hospital.

The new building will bring many of these services together and the vacated Old Medical School will form part of a plan to use surplus estate at the LGI to develop an innovation village which is expected to deliver up to 3,000 new jobs and £11.2bn in net present value.