The Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre will suspend several non-essential outpatient laboratory services for one week, starting Tuesday, 9 September.

The hospital said the move would allow resources to be redirected to urgent testing for inpatients.

Services affected include urinalysis, stool tests, pregnancy tests and certain blood screenings.

Routine testing is expected to resume on Tuesday, 16 September.

In a statement, the hospital apologised for the short notice and said the decision was precautionary to protect essential services.