The Kent and Medway Pathology Programme, which is working to bring together the pathology services at the four hospital trusts in the county to create a single pathology network, took another big step forward today as the outline business cases for a new, shared laboratory information management system (LIMS) and a single managed services contract (MSC) were agreed by the Kent and Medway CCG Governing Body.
These business cases, (which can be found in the September Governing Body papers) were approved by the hospital trust boards in July, form an essential part of the improvement plan for the programme to meet its shared vision of a high-quality, county-wide pathology network where all partners benefit from standardised equipment and technology that is fit for purpose.
This decision marks the next step in the seven-year plan which will see the laboratories working together using the same modern equipment connected to a new IT system. This will allow standardised ways of working and make sure the laboratories can support each other and we build a resilient, sustainable, NHS-provided service.
Miles Scott, Chief Executive at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and Senior Responsible Officer for the Kent and Medway Pathology Programme said: “We are delighted to be able to move to the next stage of our plan to improve pathology services in Kent and Medway. A single laboratory information management system is key to this and means we can truly work in partnership to deliver better, more effective care for patients.
“Our colleagues in pathology are often the unseen heroes of the NHS, with so much of their work happenning behind the scenes. We are very proud and grateful for how they have provided valuable input to this improvement programme, while continuing to deliver pathology services and responding to the Covid-19 pandemic by supporting Kent and Medway’s key workers with virus testing.”
The NHS organisations in the network are:
- Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
- East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
- Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
- Medway NHS Foundation Trust
The pathology service includes:
- microbiology
- blood sciences, including biochemistry, haematology and haemophilia
- blood transfusion
- cellular pathology
- immunology
- point-of-care testing (POCT)
- phlebotomy and mortuaries