Laboratory Information Management System

The Lancashire & South Cumbria Pathology Collaboration is working towards NHS Improvement’s published position on pathology networking with a hub and spoke model as the preferred delivery option for its pathology operations. The pathology collaboration named North 3 consists of the 4 Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Acute Trusts. An Outline Business Case is being produced and is considering two service options under the hub & spoke model.

The nature of modern pathology services has become much more reliant on efficient and effective technology and this area is an absolute key enabler for the success of the collaboration. The ability to share results in real time will enable effective diagnosis for patients standardised across the whole of the ICS footprint. The IT infrastructure and an integrated LIMS is crucial to the clinical quality, patient safety and operational effectiveness of pathology collaboration and has been identified by NHSI as one of the critical success factors. As referenced in the NHS Improvement pathology networking in England: the state of the nation, September 2018 release, NHSI has developed a toolkit that describes the minimum service that should be available in the Essential services laboratory (ESL). One of these is that the ESL should have true interoperability with the hub, with a single laboratory information management system (LIMS) or full IT integration, common platforms and procedures.

Full details of the Authority's requirements are set out in the Specification in Annex B1 of Section B.