Our established hub-and-spoke pathology partnerships – Pathology First and Southwest Pathology Services – have delivered major benefits to clinicians, patients and the NHS more widely. These include completing the majority of A&E tests within one hour, freeing up valuable land and estate for use by the NHS on other services, and saving up to 20p in every NHS pound spent on pathology testing services.
Across all our NHS partnerships, we have demonstrated how SYNLAB can help drive clinical and scientific innovation. Combining our global experience and expertise with those of our NHS partners, we are able to identify opportunities and deliver advances in medical progress and clinical outcomes.
Here are some examples of the benefits our partnerships have delivered:
Hub and Spoke Partnerships
- Savings of up to 20p in every NHS pound spent on pathology testing services
- 2,900m2 of NHS land and estate freed up for alternative use by the NHS
- Significantly faster average turnaround times for routine and urgent blood tests
- More than 9 in 10 blood tests for A&E patients undertaken within one hour
- Building modern state-of-the-art laboratories, with new and improved equipment
- Installation of integrated IT systems, linking hub and spoke laboratories and referral sites
- Through SYNLAB’s global laboratory and diagnostic network, access to a wide range of clinical and operational expertise, research and development, to help advance scientific and clinical practice here in the UK
The Christie Pathology Partnership
- Transformation of The Christie’s pathology testing services to improve quality and efficiency, including:
- Modernisation of existing laboratories
- Standardisation of processes with better ways of working
- Investment in new blood sciences instrumentation and automation
- Upgraded laboratory IT systems
- Through SYNLAB’s laboratory network, clinicians now have access to an increased range of testing, including biomarkers, to help prevent disease and personalise treatment plans
Testimonies
The pathology partnership benefits from access to specialist testing facilities and best practices across the SYNLAB laboratory network
Fiona Noden, Chief Operating Officer, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Turnaround times for urgent tests have massively improved
Paul Mears, Former Chief Executive, Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Without our partnership with SYNLAB, we would not have had the capital to invest in new equipment, the expertise to transform the service, nor the innovation to bring a new generation of tests to our patients. In addition, SYNLAB’s involvement has enabled our hospitals to achieve substantial savings in the cost of local pathology testing services.
Clare Panniker, Chief Executive, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
