14 March 2016

New contract to provide hospital pathology equipment

The Trust has signed an £18 million, seven year contract with Roche Diagnostics Ltd to provide some of the most advanced pathology diagnostic equipment available.

Pathology contract launch

Back: Wendy Mills – Finance Accountant, Mark Hayllar – Pathology Business Manager, Jake Hanson – Project Manager for Roche, Michele Elphick – Head of Nursing, Dr Joel Newman – Consultant Haematologist, Hayley Barron – Senior Project Manager, Front: Richard Sunley – Acting Chief Executive, Paul Skingley – Director of Centralised Solutions for Roche

With an estimated 70 to 80% of all healthcare diagnoses and decisions being directly influenced by pathology test results, this agreement will have a significant positive impact on pathology reporting which will help to ensure we can provide a better service to our patients.

At the contract signing, Richard Sunley, Acting Chief Executive said: “I am delighted to be signing the contract for this exciting partnership with Roche Diagnostics. The clinical services we provide rely on our pathology department for a fast and effective service for the rapid and reliable diagnosis of patients in our hospitals and within the local community. Our current laboratory service is hampered by very old equipment, most of which needs replacing. This new contract means we will update our laboratories with the latest state-of-the-art equipment which will also have a positive impact on the working environment of our staff.”

Dr Joel Newman, Consultant Haematologist, Clinical Lead for Pathology / Laboratory Director added: “We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the large number of staff involved in making this new development possible. It will have a significant positive impact on the speed and reliability of the tests we perform, and improve the service for both the users in the community and the staff in the laboratory. This marks a significant investment in the pathology services that we can offer to patients throughout East Sussex, and we are very excited by the potential for further improvements that these changes will bring.”

Paul Skingley, Director of Centralised Solutions, Roche Diagnostics UK, said of the announcement: “We are proud of our record on partnering with the NHS to provide patients with unprecedented access to the latest diagnostic technologies. By providing timely and accurate results, our cutting-edge technologies give doctors and nurses the valuable information they need to better treat the patients in their care.

“This announcement also marks the bringing together of expertise from both Eastbourne District General Hospital and Conquest Hospital to provide patients with seamless, high-quality care across the network. This truly is a significant success for patients and we look forward to continuing to work with the NHS to improve health outcomes in the region.”