Siemens Laboratory Automation Solution Helps Streamline Blood Science Workflow at NHS Tayside

NHS Tayside in Dundee, Scotland has become one of the first healthcare providers to deploy Aptio™ Automation, a unified clinical laboratory workflow solution, from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. The site, which provides a range of primary, community-based and acute hospital services, introduced an integrated Blood Sciences Laboratory (BSL) to reduce waste. Aptio supports the BSL, running multidisciplinary tests along a single track.

The BSL serves a population of 475,000 and processes close to 6,000 tubes a day from inside the hospital and local GP Practices. Specific goals were to optimise use of staff knowledge and skills; rapidly translate technological developments and medical evidence into practice; and provide the resilience and flexibility to meet ever-changing healthcare needs. The new lab environment has enabled NHS Tayside to run cross-disciplinary tests along the Aptio track with faster, more-comprehensive results reporting and less human intervention. In addition, the Managed Pathology Services™ (MPS) contract with Siemens encompasses services and strategic consulting for process engineering.

Aptio Automation provides a multidisciplinary analytical solution, delivering a full complement of pre- and post-analytical sample processing modules, along with analytics, and effective IT middleware. The solution includes multiple disciplines of chemistry, haematology, haemostasis, serology, and immunology. CentraLink™ Data Management System provides a central software platform for automating workflows and consolidating lab data and instruments. The MPS contract also delivers FAST inventory order and delivery management for reagents and consumables.

“Waste can be anything from inappropriate testing to not using a person’s knowledge and skills effectively,” says Dr. Bill Bartlett, Joint Clinical Director of Diagnostics at NHS Tayside. “Redesigning the system to reduce waste, variation, and prevent harm to patients is imperative for us and we aim to provide a state-of-the-art service that aligns the lab function with Tayside’s overall goals. Having a range of tests on a single track provides fantastic opportunities to standardise and streamline testing, and to re-deploy our staff for a more value-added service.”

“In the face of rising demand and limited resources NHS Tayside are working smarter,” states Darren Sher, Marketing Manager Lab Process Automation at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “We are delighted that by implementing Aptio Automation from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics the Health Board is enforcing its vision of patient-centric care, clinical effectiveness, and cost efficiency. The track’s multi instrument flexibility gives NHS Tayside the capacity to meet its variety of testing needs, as well as to handle changing demands and add new tests.”