Pathology partnership strengthened during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Beckman Coulter established a partnership with South West London Pathology (SWLP) in 2014. Over time, the partnership evolved, growing in size and capacity, and encompassing various aspects within the Managed Service Contract. During the summer of 2020, when the country was at the height of lockdown and hospital laboratories were figuring out a new way to work, this partnership led to the adoption of the AutoMate 2550, featuring the Intelligent Sample Banking (ISB) software.

The SWLP partnership provides an integrated pathology service across south-west London. Initially set up by three large hospitals – St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust and Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – the partnership serves more than 3.5 million people. The partnership also covers the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and the New Victoria Hospital, as well as over 200 GP practices and 30 healthcare centres.

South West London Pathology
Each of the three hospitals in the partnership has a trauma centre, A&E department, operating theatres and maternity services. Laboratories at each hospital are responsible for processing and testing samples collected on and off site. Across the network, over 43 million tests were carried out in 2019, with around 25,000 samples processed daily. The hub laboratory, located at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, processes the majority of the area’s pathology samples, as well as its own work. This includes samples from GP practices and healthcare centres, bringing the number of samples tested at St George’s to around 9000 a day. The laboratories at all three hospitals operate 24/7, covering essential services.