A young boy and his family enjoyed a tour of the Pathology department as part of the national ‘Harvey’s Gang’ initiative.
Hugo Wooding, 5, received a specially made mini lab coat and name badge, before spending the afternoon discovering what happens to blood samples in the hospital.
Robert Goddard, Chief BioMedical Scientist, along with members of the team, showed Hugo around the department and laboratory, supervised him whilst he loaded sample racks and taught him how to look at blood cells down through microscopes.
Robert said: "Hugo was interested in how all the machines worked asked a lot of very pertinent questions to learn about the components of blood. The team even tested the families hand washing technique.
"It was a wonderful afternoon for all with a delightful little boy and his parents."
Harvey’s Gang is a registered charity which encourages and helps children to have an understanding of illness and the necessity to give blood samples.
Harvey Baldwin was an inquisitive young boy who sadly died of complications related to acute myeloid leukaemia. When Harvey was receiving treatment he asked if he could see how and where his blood was tested. Malcolm Robinson, Chief Biomedical Scientist at WSHT, heard about Harvey and gave him a guided tour of the Pathology Laboratory.
After Harvey passed away in 2013, Malcolm continued offering tours to children who wanted to be ‘Trainee Scientists’ for the day and the charity was formed.
