Special Health Authority T
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NHSBT Filton
he immediate impression of the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) centre in Filton, Bristol is of a high-grade pharmaceutical facility. The wearing of hairnets, blue coats
and overshoes, the flexible or “lean” production areas, and the specialist centrifuge machines spinning and processing blood into its constituent parts reflect the requirement to maintain high standards in a clean working environment. The separate testing area ensures the clinical safety and high quality of the final product. Finally, the logistics areas allow blood products to be packaged and dispatched to hospitals and stock holding units around the country. The whole process is a complex exercise in supply chain management – and NHSBT’s ambition is to be the best organisation of its type in the world. Once blood has been collected from donors
at sites across England and North Wales, it is transported to one of NHSBT’s five manufacturing centres. Filton is the largest of these centres, and it is here that life-saving donations of whole blood are split into red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and platelets. These products are placed into packs for customer hospitals to order online. The hospitals use NHSBT developed software called Online Blood Ordering System (OBOS), which allows them at the touch of a button to order different blood products and types for delivery.
The Filton Blood Centre and its products NHSBT Filton is situated on an industrial estate with ease of access to major transport networks. It is a £58 million facility constructed by Laing O’Rourke, originally intended to produce over 2,000 blood donations a day. By 2014 it was manufacturing over 3,000 units per day following the implementation of a lean performance improvement programme designed to continuously improve the manufacturing process. It is reputed to be the largest blood manufacturing centre in the world. NHSBT Filton’s Centre Manager, John Kirkwood,
has a background in haematology. He studied to become a biomedical scientist only to find himself, in his own words, “managing a factory.” With its meticulous process flow through the manufacturing and testing departments, one can see why that comparison has been drawn. The centre runs along the principles of good and efficient manufacturing, and delegations from companies such as Jaguar and Land Rover have visited to learn from the professionals at NHSBT Filton. The testing process begins at 5am each day when
the first team starts work on sample vials that are filled during donation, to ensure the blood is virus and disease free. They are tested for a number of major infectious agents, including Hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis and human T-lymphotrophic virus.
global-opportunity.co.uk
Issue 01 | Global Opportunity Healthcare 2015 109
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