ADVER TISEMENT FEA TURE Continued from previous page Establishing a POCT department
From a ‘team’ of one POCT Manager – Haval – in 2018, the SWLP POCT pathology department has now grown to a team of 22 in 2023, aſter achieving accreditation in 2021. “In 2018, we were a newly formed network of three acute hospitals
in southwest London. So even before accreditation, our focus had to be on service harmonisation, starting with the largest service, blood gas,” said Haval. “Tree different types of analysers were being used across the network, and contracts and finances were not in place, or not being monitored. Essentially, there was no proper governance around POCT. So, our starting point was to put in place the building blocks for POCT governance. Harmonisation using a single type of analyser across our network was one of these blocks.” Key to harmonisation was choosing the right blood gas analysers,
plus associated IT systems and customer support. So, several devices were assessed as part of the tender process. “Tere were many reasons for choosing Radiometer as the right partner for us, but a key one was the great uptime with minimal calibration and QC requirements compared to other analysers. Tis means the analysers are always readily available to our clinicians at the point of need,” detailed Haval. “Pre-analytics were a big consideration too. Radiometer’s safePICO syringes and the sample mixing port on its analysers ultimately generate more accurate results by eliminating one of the main pre-analytical errors in blood gas analysis. So, that was again a bonus for us and good features to have.” Also essential, is putting the right devices in the right places based
on clinical needs and ensuring they make a real difference to patient pathways and care. Haval noted that this was especially important for certain patient cohorts, such as paediatrics and neonatal ICUs. “Radiometer’s ABL90 FLEX PLUS analysers were the right choice for us. For example, the small sample volume of just 45 µL is very important for neonatal patients, and ideal compared to the 125 µL that other systems need.” For SWLP’s Emergency Department (ED) patients, the availability
of creatinine, urea and eGFR with the ABL90 FLEX PLUS analysers was also of paramount importance to certain patients. Haval confirmed, “Tese parameters were very well received by our ED clinicians for assessing their trauma patients. “IT connectivity and integration with electronic patient records
were a high priority for us. Radiometer’s AQURE middleware system is very good and has met our needs in many ways. It’s enabled us
to easily connect POC analysers and interface them with patients’ electronic records,” said Haval. “Having results available electronically – and importantly trends in those results – especially for ICU patients requiring several blood gas measurements a day – really helps clinicians in managing their patients.” Harmonisation of devices also proved hugely beneficial during
the pandemic because the clinical users who rotated between the five hospitals in the SWLP network could all use the same type of analyser. Haval explained: “With all our hospitals having just harmonised, that was a real benefit for us and the service users during the pandemic. Clinician and nurse users were frequently moving between sites in southwest London, and they were able to use the same instruments wherever they went. We received very positive feedback that this was really helpful for efficiency and reduced training needs.”
Accreditation benefits
Clinical laboratories are governed by recognised international standards (ISO 15189:2012 and 17025). Although these exist for POCT (ISO 22870), the application is variable and there are only a few examples of POCT services reaching this standard.1
SWLP is one of these rare
examples. Te latest revision of ISO 15189, published in 2022, has now brought
POCT into this widely used clinical laboratory standard. So, it’s expected that laboratory services will extend their accreditation to include POCT as ISO 22870 is withdrawn. Tis mirrors SWLP’s approach to bring POCT into the realm of its pathology services when it achieved accreditation. “We started thinking about accreditation of our POCT department
in 2019 to maximise on patient safety and improve patient outcomes,” said Haval. “We also wanted our clinicians and other users to have a high level of confidence in our POCT service. Additionally, standards mitigate any risks to patient safety and errors that may lead to litigation, which can oſten arise from faults, or lack of governance and quality assurance.” Accreditation also supports expansion of POCT services, particularly
into community settings. When moving into new domains further afield than hospital clinics, it’s imperative for patient safety that quality standards and good governance are maintained in this complex area of diagnostics. “As an accredited POCT service, SWLP can give the wider clinical community complete confidence in our service. Tis has many benefits, not only better patient safety and outcomes, plus clinicians’ confidence in our service, but it also helps us with our own expansion and business development,” confirmed Haval.
Haval Ozgun, POCT Manager and Network Lead, South West London Pathology says: “POCT is generally seen as out of the scope of the main pathology; we’ve changed that. We’ve brought all POCT in house and started setting it up as a standalone pathology discipline within SWLP to ensure the necessary governance.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57
