Value in Healthcare Awards: Value and Improvement in Pathology Services

Salford Royal FT: Meeting the 20:20 vision for pathology provision in Salford and Wigan

The judges said: “This winning project has delivered impressive cost savings and improvement in quality. It has minimised waste, harm and duplication by putting the patients and staff first.”

In 2012 Pathology at Wigan and Salford (PAWS) was formed, following the merger of pathology services in Salford Royal FT and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh FT.

The challenge for the PAWS team was to improve the quality and delivery of pathology services across both areas, while achieving savings through technology driven reform of work practices.

The team’s first vision was to have a single blood sciences laboratory under a single management structure. In order to deliver this, a new essential service laboratory (ESL) building was designed, which would allow for an integrated laboratory workforce and replace existing labs at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh which were deemed not fit for purpose.

The Blood Sciences lab went live in 2013 and the final stage of the pathology merger was taken in January 2015 with a move to the new ESL build.

As a result of this merger turnaround times have been reduced and improvements in services have been made in line with national guidelines. Following research carried out by Keele University it was found that in all but biochemistry, PAWS cost per test/request was the lowest compared to the overall average for NHS pathology services.

• See all the winners of the Value in Healthcare Awards 2015
• See the full list of award judges

Finalists

• Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust: Professional communication is key to future pathology success
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals FT: Improving UTI diagnosis and management in the elderly
• Southwest Pathology Services: Southwest pathology service hub and spoke