The Pathology Partnership appoints Capita to deliver CliniSys laboratory software

Published: 14-Jul-2014

£9.7m contract to provide laboratory information system and the platform to host it


The Pathology Partnership has awarded Capita Healthcare Decisions a seven-year, £9.7m contract to provide a laboratory information system and the platform to host it.

Capita will work with partner CliniSys to deliver the system as part of a shared service agreement.

Combining the pathology laboratories of Cambridge, Ipswich, Hinchingbrooke, Colchester, and West Suffolk hospitals, together with East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, the Pathology Partnership was formed in the wake of the Carter Review , which recommended that performance improvement in pathology would be driven by the consolidation of multiple, acute trust pathology departments into single, managed networks.

An effective laboratory information system is a vital component to achieve the aims of shared services initiatives like the Pathology Partnership, supporting an integrated, high-quality pathology service that maximises innovation and technology and drives economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

Steve Joyce, the Pathology Partnership chief executive, said: “We are testing 24/7, 365 days a year and as one of the largest NHS pathology services in the country it is essential that our business is underpinned by a single robust and resilient information system.

“The Capita and CliniSys system will help us to standardise pathology information, provide easier access to vital test results, gain better connectivity and meet the high standards required and expected by our hospitals and GPs.”

CliniSys and Capita will deliver the specialist laboratory software and supporting IT infrastructure to ensure the shared laboratory enjoys the necessary high levels of availability, security and flexibility. Capita, the first commercial N3 aggregator, will also enable the laboratories to connect to the NHS-wide network.

Joyce said: “This solution gives us the building blocks for developing and sustaining a quality pathology service that puts the needs of our customers and patients first.”

Simon Hurst, commercial director at CliniSys, said: “The scale and complexity of the Pathology Partnership network meant that it needed a resilient scalable laboratory information management system that enabled it to transform the current pathology services across seven physical locations, processing five million requests per year. With the delivery of the Capita Healthcare Decisions and CliniSys solution, the Pathology Partnership will be able to logistically track and process samples from across the region and have an infrastructure that allows for further expansion as the network develops.”

Andy Lockwood, managing director at Capita Healthcare Decisions, added: “By working together, Capita Healthcare Decisions and CliniSys have delivered a solution that embodies the wider NHS aim of doing more with less, enabling the Pathology Partnership to benefit, immediately, from improved efficiencies and availability of services. Over the longer term, the Pathology Partnership will be able to interrogate the data for around three million citizens on a single platform, providing huge benefits in planning resources and predicting trends among patients with asthma or diabetes, for example. “

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