Microbiology/Virology Multicentre laboratory services Pathology and ...

MULTICENTRE LABORATORY SERVICESAutomation buildslaboratory networkacross four NHS trustsLaboratories in four trusts across the south-east of Englandcarried out a technical evaluation that put service delivery atthe top of the agenda. The result was a seven-year partnership,in the form of a managed service contract, with BeckmanCoulter that provides analysers, pre- and post-analyticalautomation and after sales service.Laboratory teams in four NHS trustshave played a pivotal role in achievingwhat was said to be one of the UK’slargest automation projects when it wasunveiled earlier this year. Thismultimillion-pound joint procurementexercise involved the PortsmouthHospitals NHS Trust, Royal West SussexTrust (Chichester), SouthamptonUniversity Hospitals NHS Trust andWinchester and Eastleigh HealthcareNHS Trust.Faster turnaround times, moreconsistent delivery of results, automatedpre-analytical processing and anexpanded menu will create one of themost efficient, multicentre laboratoryservices in the UK. For the two millionpatients served by the hospitalsinvolved, it will mean their illnesses canbe diagnosed and treated more quickly.What the laboratories have achieved,collectively, has been described by onesenior hospital manager as "astrengthened pathology network,building on existing relationships, whichcould well be a model for other UKhospital trusts".Service delivery top of agendaAlready handling 15 million testsbetween them, the individuallaboratories needed to replaceout-of-date equipment urgently.They were facing 2007 workloadspredicted to rise by up to 10%, with nobudget for additional staff. Instead ofviewing themselves as individuallaboratories with separate needs, theyformed a project team designed to avoidduplication of resources. By pooling theirresources, the laboratories recognisedthat they could achieve a dynamicupgrade of facilities while still deliveringthe ‘economies of scale’ required by thehospital.Even before cost was considered,however, the laboratories carried out atechnical evaluation, viewing all the sitescollectively, with service delivery at thetop of the agenda. This evaluation andspecification benchmarked subsequentfinancial decisions and pointed to someinevitable compromises that had to bemade for the greater good of the patients.The result was a seven-yearpartnership, in the form of a managedservice contract, with Beckman Coulter,‘Already handling15 million testsbetween them, the fourlaboratories needed toreplace out-of-dateequipment urgently’Samples are loaded on the tracking system prior to decapping,centrifugation and passage to the attached analysers.2REPRINTED FROM PATHOLOGY IN PRACTICE NOVEMBER 2006