Cellular Pathology Lab recognised for impressive improvements at coveted national awards
The Cellular Pathology Lab Service, part of the wider Derbyshire Pathology team, has been recognised nationally for their hard work to improve their service, allowing patients to receive their test results in a more timely manner.
The team was highly commended at the 2023 RCPath Achievement Awards, the esteemed annual awards scheme organised by the Royal College of Pathologists, for improving waiting times for test results despite seeing an increase in demand on their service. You can read the full list of RCPath Achievement Award winners and highly commended entries, including the Cellular Pathology Lab Service, here >
The Cellular Pathology Lab Service supports a range of specialist areas to help diagnose conditions, such as cancers, by carefully analysing bodily fluids and tissues, ensuring patients are given the correct diagnosis and treatment at the right time to help the Trust deliver its aim of exceptional care and providing timely results to patients.
Dave Simpson, Deputy General Manager for Derbyshire Pathology, highlighted: "We have seen a rise in demand of around 35% in our histology services and a similar rise in gynaecology cytology screening which has been challenging for the team.
"To address this, the team evaluated its workflow to identify constraints and bottlenecks, working in collaboration with lab teams to develop a multi-strategy intervention - which included the implementation of new IT hardware, changes to organisational structure within the relevant pathology service teams, improvement of the configuration of existing software, and the establishment of dedicated resources to support lab staff training."
The team also introduced an automated booking system to speed up the processing of samples, extending their operating hours and developing new rotas to increase equipment capacity by around 69%, provided further training to colleagues to broaden their skillsets and creating dedicated time to convert samples into slides ready for review to further aid efficiency in their systems.
All of these measures helped to increase the overall capacity of the lab and saw an improvement in the time taken to provide test results, meaning patients can access treatment at an earlier time.
Chris Ainger, General Manager of Derbyshire Pathology, said: "We are delighted to have been recognised on a national level. We are so proud of the team and the improvements we've been able to make to deliver a better, more efficient service to our patients across Derbyshire."
Gerry Van Schalkwyk, Clinical Director of Derbyshire Pathology, said: "The changes we have made highlight the importance of continuous improvement in our organisation - where we can look at the services we provide and identify ways to 'work smarter' to deliver exceptional care for our patients."