Work to install the latest advanced diagnostic equipment to transform the pathology laboratories at Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne DGH, has now been completed.
The new equipment is part of a £10 million, seven year contract with Roche Diagnostics Ltd to provide some of the most advanced pathology equipment available. This is helping to speed up tests, minimise errors, manage increasing demand and reduce costs.
Pathology staff at Eastbourne DGH with some of their new pathology equipment
The pathology laboratories at both Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne DGH have been significantly upgraded and refurbished into large open plan spaces, with new modern robotic analysers and equipment installed.
Pathology staff at Conquest Hospital with some of their new pathology equipment
The Trust’s two Pathology laboratories, at Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne DGH process, analyse and report on over 8 million samples every year. They work together and share resources to ensure the best possible service to patients across the Trust, or under the care of their local GP. The majority of the tests performed are available for doctors to review within one hour of them being received in the laboratory. Microbiology and Histology tests though, take days not hours to process and report.
An estimated 70 to 80% of all healthcare diagnoses and decisions are directly influenced by pathology test results. This new equipment will make a significant positive impact on pathology reporting, helping to ensure a better service to our patients.
Dr Joel Newman, Consultant Haematologist and Deputy Chief of Division for Diagnostics, Anaesthetics and Surgery said: “Our exciting partnership with Roche Diagnostics has enabled us to modernise our pathology service, and the new equipment is making a significant impact on the speed and reliability of the tests we perform, and improved the working environment of members of staff in the laboratories.
“This is a significant investment in our pathology service in East Sussex and our new cutting-edge equipment has improved the service to our doctors, nurses and users in the community, giving them the valuable information they need to better treat the patients in their care.”
This contract is already helping to save in excess of 20% of our Pathology costs, which can be reinvested into local healthcare, and used to manage the large increase of samples we receive every year.
The complex contract with Roche Diagnostics Ltd was signed in 2016, but has only recently gone live. The agreement with Roche is flexible enough to allow the Trust to take advantage of new tests on the market, which can quickly screen samples and avoid long and worrying waits for patients. Roche have provided extensive training and support whilst continuing to help us with workflow analysis and laboratory optimisation.
Mark Hayllar, the Trust’s Managed Service Contract Manager said: “Our partnership with Roche gives us access to the expertise and technology of a leading global healthcare provider, with the response and care you expect from a firm based just down the road in West Sussex.”