Managed Laboratory Service Improves Workflow and Future Proofs the Laboratory

The brand new Peterborough City Hospital has installed state-of-the-art analytical technology in its Clinical  Biochemistry and Immunology Laboratory thanks to an innovative Managed Laboratory Service (MLS) from
Roche. Not only has the Roche MLS enabled the laboratory to operate more efficiently, but it is also designed to accommodate the expansion and future development of the service. The Roche MLS covers analytical equipment, maintenance, reagents and supporting software across the two hospital sites of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. At Peterborough District Hospital, this includes two Roche cobas® 8000 modular analyser series (with ISE, clinical chemistry and immunochemistry modules) – each with a throughput of approximately 4,000 tests per hour – a MODULAR® PRE-ANALYTICS module and a cobas p 501 post- analytical unit. Keith Palmer, Head Biomedical Scientist (Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology) at Peterborough City Hospital, commented: “The Roche MLS has enabled us to acquire state of the art technology, allowing the merger of previously separate routine and STAT modular platforms. This allows simpler, more efficient sample handling and sample routing, and has allowed the department to implement lean working and to review our skill mix.”

“The configuration allows for considerable expansion over the next few years,” he continued. “This will accommodate increased volume and further extension of the core day, as appropriate. The configuration also allows for built-in system resilience in the event of hardware downtime, ensuring minimal impact on sample turn round.” The on-line addition of a Roche cobas p 501 post-analytical unit, an automated sample retrieval and storage module for archiving samples after analysis, has resulted in some significant time savings in the laboratory. “The cobas p 501 post-analytical module has automated a previously manual storage, tracking and retrieval system,” Keith explained. “This allows our operators to be released for other, more appropriate duties. We anticipate that the laboratory computer system will be able to communicate with the module so that, when necessary, samples are presented for further analysis automatically.” In addition to improving the laboratory analysis of samples, the Roche MLS also includes the cobas IT 1000 Point of Care (POC) application for the improved management of POC testing devices and data.