SYNLAB UK & Ireland has announced that it will become Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s new pathology partner, transforming services across south-east London over the next 15 years.
Linked to the NHS vision to develop ‘hub and spoke’ pathology networks, the new partnership will provide pathology services not only to the two trusts, but also to other hospitals, GP practices, community services, clinics and other healthcare organisations.
The new partnership will bring a raft of improvements for patients, with urgent and routine tests turned around more quickly, leading to faster decisions regarding a patient’s care and treatment. In turn, this will help to release vital NHS beds by reducing avoidable overnight admissions and related delays to patient discharge. The NHS also stands to make substantial cost savings from the contract.
Building on existing Viapath pathology expertise, clinicians and scientists will benefit from a range of improvements thanks to SYNLAB’s investment in state-of-the-art laboratories, cutting-edge equipment and remote online access to test results as well as the introduction of digital pathology, allowing more time to be spent on patient care. They will also benefit from access to SYNLAB’s global laboratory and diagnostic network, including international expertise and research and development, to advance clinical and scientific practice here in the UK.