Nottingham’s Cellular Pathology Team awarded a Royal College of Pathologists Achievement Award
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s (NUH) Cellular Pathology team has been recognised nationally for their hard work to improve turnaround times and patient care whilst setting a benchmark for excellence.
The team won an award at the 2024 RCPath Achievement Awards. The Awards celebrate excellence in pathology practice and promote high standards in pathology education, training and research to deliver the best patient care.
Through the adoption of new methodology and the implementation of digital pathology, the Cellular Pathology Team have revolutionised service delivery, transforming the entire diagnostic pathway.
Paul Chenery, Cellular Pathology Service Manager, said: “NUH Cellular Pathology has undergone huge changes over the last two years. The laboratory has undertaken a full workflow review adopting LEAN principles which has seen significant improvements to our turnaround times, from 6.2 calendar days on average to 2.9 calendar days.”
The team have also embraced innovation through implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) driven decision support tools, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and patient case outcomes.
This has resulted in significantly improved turnaround times for urgent cases and enabled collaborative working across sites whilst ultimately improving patient care.
The Cellular Pathology Service supports a range of specialist areas to help diagnose conditions, such as cancers, by carefully analysing bodily fluids and tissues, ensuring patients are given the correct diagnosis and treatment at the right time to help the Trust deliver its aim of exceptional care and providing timely results to patients.
The team have worked closely with 21 other NHS Trusts and want to inspire other pathology departments, exemplifying the opportunities created by digital transformation to improve patient care.
Paul added: “We have been published nationally because of our achievement and hosted over 20 Trusts/Pathology Networks who are looking to NUH Cellular Pathology for best practice against a backdrop of targets which are widely considered impossible.
“The fantastic team are providing inspiration to laboratories demonstrating the seemingly impossible can be achieved if we are open to ‘thinking differently’.
“There are some exciting times ahead for NUH Cellular Pathology and we look forward to continuing our ambition to be a national centre of excellence, providing the best standard of care for our patients!”
David Clark, Consultant Haematopathologist, said: “Winning a prestigious Royal College of Pathologists Team achievement award for 2024 is recognition of the outstanding teamwork within Cellular Pathology and a commitment to continually improve and transform the way the service is delivered for patients.
“None of this would have been possible without the commitment and hard work of the entire team of staff within the Cellular Pathology department."