POINT-OF-CARE TESTING


Metro-POCT: training on track for the future


Last year, a new north-west initiative was introduced that aimed to deliver point-of-care-testing training and competences in primary care. Here, biomedical scientist Barry Hill provides an update on progress.


Point-of-care testing (POCT) is widely regarded as a key component in the NHS commitment towards greater diagnostic testing in community settings, which is why the new Metro-POCT facility at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) is now at the forefront in delivering the knowledge, skills and training required to help achieve this. A collaboration between MMU’s Clinical Academic Network (School of Healthcare Science) and the NHS, aided by Higher Education and Innovation Funding (HEIF), Metro-POCT is a proof-of-concept project that aims to establish a one-stop diagnostic facility for POCT to provide training and eLearning facilities for community POCT practitioners. The dedicated POCT Clinical Skills Studio at MMU is managed through Metro–POCT in conjunction with the UK NEQAS consortium and is led by Professor Keith Hyde, who, through his contacts with GPs in the Greater Manchester area, was becoming increasingly


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aware of concerns regarding the lack of POCT expertise in community settings and its potential impact on patient safety. The primary objectives of the project are to deliver competence in primary care POCT, raise awareness of any POCT issues, and, most importantly, improve patient safety by creating better POCT practitioners. This will be achieved by delivering POCT knowledge and learning to community practitioners – typically practice nurses and healthcare assistants. The training will cover all aspects of POCT, such as sample handling, operation of devices, results handling and reporting, all within the Clinical Skills Studio at MMU. Crucially, the training will be delivered by expert NHS pathology professionals, supported by industry and various professional bodies, including the IBMS. The Metro-POCT project dovetails neatly into the current NHS quality agenda and the formation of the new clinical commissioning


groups (CCGs), and is underpinned by research undertaken by academia to ensure that the content and training is not only fit for purpose but that it ensures right content, right delivery, right language and right outcomes.


Point-of-care testing currently in use in primary care. DECEMBER 2013


LESSONS LEARNED Simon Kimber, Metro-POCT national project manager, considers the project is making excellent progress in its second year and believes that the aim to roll out POCT training and expertise to practitioners within the Clinical Skills Studio at MMU is well on track. “Progress in the first year went very much to plan. We commenced in November 2011 by recruiting all the necessary technical support and pathology expertise we needed. We also achieved a high profile for the project at the outset by targeting various publications, including The Biomedical Scientist, as we considered it important to make laboratory staff aware that this concept was about ensuring that the high-quality work which takes place in UK hospital laboratories transfers successfully to the community. Next, pilot training days were scheduled and a needs analysis and online survey were undertaken to assess current awareness, uptake and attitudes to POCT in primary care. “We also canvassed opinion to assess the impact of training and POCT aspects on areas such as the patient pathway, patient management, patient satisfaction and health economics, all of which contributed and helped to inform the service development ultimately required for the Metro-POCT project.” However, the findings revealed that it was patchy at best, as Simon explains: “It was extremely difficult to pin down the exact numbers of POCT schemes out there; additionally, attitudes varied among GPs towards its deployment, and many were extremely sceptical about its benefits.” Crucially, however, it was POCT training, or rather a lack of it, that stood out as a major issue. It soon became apparent that there was no standardised approach to delivering POCT training in the community, as there was only a limited number of local POC coordinators available to perform this supportive role.


THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENTIST 705


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