Since Airedale General Hospital opened 40 years ago, there have been massive changes in the technology used and the way people are treated.

And perhaps nowhere more so than in the pathology department, which staff proudly describe as the “nerve centre”

of the hospital and indeed of health treatment and diagnosis throughout the area.

There can be few people who have not come into contact with the work of the staff – even at arm’s length (so to speak) in having their blood tested.

The Craven Herald was invited into this rarefied enclave to see the white-coated women and men at work testing blood and examining body tissue.

What struck a layman was the array of technology which essentially meant very little direct handling of samples.

However, in the bio-chemistry department, where consultant histopathologist Dr Philip Da Costa works, hands-on work in examining tissues is still essential.

He said: “Examining a biopsy involves using both the naked eye initially and then under a microscope.

“It’s a much more time-consuming exercise than analysing blood tests.

“What takes the longest time in this process is the technical part which is the fixing of the sample, the thin-slicing of sections, the mounting onto slides and the staining ready for inspection under the microscope.”

Testing blood samples is one area where technology is evident and owes some thanks to Mr Henry Ford – blood samples move along a conveyor winding around the room though the several processes of analysis.

Samples arrive by an air tube which may take a minute or so, compared to ten to 15 minutes when brought down on foot.

One of the biggest changes in the work is the rapidity in which samples can be analysed – 120 an hour.

Dr Paul Godwin, consultant microbiologist, who has worked at Airedale for 24 years, points out that the hospital was at the forefront of developing the technology which allows this rapid analysis to take place.

Now he and his colleagues are preparing for a new chapter in the development of the department.

“We’re having to create more space. We’re staying within this area but having to reconfigure and refurbish simply because of the growing nature of pathology,” he said.

“The expansion is being driven by an increase in workload and the requirement to continue to increase our workload to grow our business.

“We are creating an extra laboratory and revamping our department to provide additional space which will allow us to possibly have further automation in the future which means we can deal with more specimens, more efficiently, meaning quicker turnaround of patient results.”

The lab saw its most recent major addition in the chemistry track-system, installed in 2012.

It allows the efficient management of large amounts of blood samples, bringing about improved quality and turnaround times.

There are more than 100 people in the pathology team – made up of consultant medical and scientific staff, managerial staff, biomedical scientists, medical laboratory assistants, phlebotomists, administrative staff and secretarial staff.