A new blood test centre run by The Dudley Group Foundation Trust has opened at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre to help ease pressure for testing services.

The new NHS facility has been designed to improve patient care and allows patients to get their blood tests done in a non-clinical setting whilst they do their shopping. The clinic lets patients book appointments via an online booking system and has a much larger range of availability than at other blood test sites.

The location at the Merry Hill Centre has over 10,000 free parking spaces and longer opening hours. These two elements mean that more appointments can take place per day and waiting times in other clinical NHS settings can be greatly reduced.

There are excellent transport links to the Merry Hill Centre from all around the region and it is one of the most well-known shopping destinations in the West Midlands. In addition, the retail location can also reduce the anxiety of being at a clinical site and can provide patients with a much more calming environment to have their blood test procedures. Diane Wake, chief executive of The Dudley Group Foundation Trust said:

“We are thrilled to be opening a new state-of-the-art facility here in the heart of the Dudley region that can offer our patients further access to blood tests at such an accessible location.

“Utilising the Merry Hill Centre’s numerous transport links, free parking and its extended opening hours will give this region’s community further access to blood tests and ultimately help The Dudley Group provide further excellent patient care.”

When creating the site’s highly advanced facilities, two companies kindly offered their support free of charge. This included Altro Flooring, who provided all the site’s vinyl flooring, as well as Behrens Healthcare, who supplied twelves sets of cubicle curtains that offer privacy for patients during their blood test.

Located on the lower ground floor of the mall, near to NatWest bank, the blood test centre will open to the public from 2:00pm, with appointments available to book via the online portal. Jonathan Poole, Centre Manager at Merry Hill, added:

“We’re proud to support The Dudley Group Foundation Trust in their mission to make blood testing services more accessible and flexible within Dudley.

"The centre will make it easier for shoppers to get their blood tested during their spare time, and we hope members of our local community will make use of the new service at the centre.”