Partnership working between Beckman Coulter and pathology staff in Chester once again has demonstrated what connectivity and a small footprint can achieve, as Martin Langan explains.
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust began its partnership with Beckman Coulter more than five years ago to develop one of the first combined blood science units in the NHS. The upgrading of the laboratory service was part of a £6 million investment programme by the hospital both to infrastructure and environment. At the same time, the hospital instigated a process of continuous improvement in all departments, with the aim of increasing productivity and efficiency by minimising waste and delays.
Collaboration with Beckman Coulter is part of that process of continuous improvement. It has involved a complete upgrade of all the systems and also a laboratory reconfiguration, with staff trained to work with greater efficiency across a number of disciplines. We have been able to demonstrate quantifiable workflow improvements with lower and more consistent turnaround times (TATs). The partnership has enabled us to redesign our long-term service provision in line with core Lean principles. This approach focuses more on fundamental process improvements than just immediate cost-saving.
The laboratory now processes approximately 3500 samples a day, with a 50/50 split between our internal and external customers. Continuous improvements have also had to take into account limitations to floor space. When, in autumn 2013, we wanted to upgrade our haematology service, the challenge was to find a new platform that offered us more precise and faster haematology analysis in a compact footprint.
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