A £15.9 million contract has been awarded to Citadel Health to provide new technology to NHS Wales, which will bring together the management of end-to-end patient testing for every discipline across Wales.
This investment by NHS Wales aims to modernise and transform pathology services, with better care, faster and more targeted treatments, and improved health outcomes for patients.
Pathology underpins 95% of all clinical pathways and 70% of all diagnoses in Wales. With the pressure on testing services brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of treating a growing and ageing population, often with multiple coexisting conditions, the need for a modern pathology network has never been greater.
The Evolution vLab Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) software will replace the current three separate systems, to create a single, modern pathology network that connects every clinician, lab and hospital in Wales with a complete patient test management solution, all via a single login.
Once live, the system will manage the more than 35 million test requests that are processed each year by 21 NHS Wales pathology labs, and support every hospital, clinic, and GP nationwide.
With Citadel Health’s solution integrated with NHS Wales Welsh Clinical Portal, laboratories, hospitals, and clinicians will have faster access to real-time pathology information across every discipline at their fingertips.
Stephen Lynch, executive general manager at Citadel Health said: "The COVID pandemic has placed unprecedented demands on clinical testing services worldwide, reinforcing the case for investment and transformation of digitally enabled healthcare systems to meet evolving needs.
“For clinicians and patients alike, getting test results as quickly and accurately as possible is essential to allow them to make timely decisions about treatments and ultimately provide the best possible outcomes.
“Our cutting-edge technology provides a unified pathology workflow to help people now, and into the future, as new tests and services are developed to meet growing demands. We’re proud to be working with NHS Wales - an organisation that is leading the way in digital transformation of healthcare in the UK - we are delighted to be working alongside them on this journey.”
