Submitted to the Friends against the backdrop of the rising Omicron cases in December, an urgent bid for the purchase of an additional machine for PCR testing in Microbiology was submitted and subsequently approved. The main Microbiology lab, containing the molecular pathology lab, is in Eastbourne, and constantly under pressure to turn around rising Covid-19 specimens more rapidly. Clinical care can be delayed pending a negative test result so the additional equipment will speed up the turnaround of results and impact directly on patient care in Eastbourne. Additionally, the new machine can also be used for other testing too.