Agenda item

Mark Hindle, Managing Director at Lancashire and South Cumbria Pathology Services presented a report to update the committee on the planned formation of a single pathology service for Lancashire and South Cumbria.

The following points were highlighted:

·  Although public consultation was not necessary, the project leadership recognised the importance of stakeholder engagement to the new service's success;

·  The resilience and efficiency of Lancashire and South Cumbria's pathology service would be improved through collaboration, new infrastructure and the technology facilitated by the project;

·  Most of the region's pathology services would be carried out at the new pathology hub in Samlesbury, but urgent testing would continue at hospital sites; and

·  The majority of pathology staff would be moved from their current roles to the new pathology hub. To enable this change, all staff and budgets would be combined by the end of the 2021-22 financial year under the new pathology service, in advance of the new hub's opening in Autumn 2023.

In response to questions, the following information was provided:

·  With the combined budgets there would be sufficient funding available to the Pathology Collaboration to continue running current pathology services until the opening of the new hub. If more money was required, there were opportunities to retain revenue, bid for capital, and bid for investment from shareholders.

·  Approximately 400-550 staff would be relocated to the new hub, and 200-250 staff would remain at hospitals to provide urgent services. The importance of consulting and informing staff of the changes was recognised. Although the views of staff had not been formally surveyed, it was expected that regular information sharing and discussions with consultants would lead to general consensus in favour of the service changes. The potential for difficulty and disruption to staff and work practices was also acknowledged.

·  A breakdown of the views of different stakeholders in relation to the changes had not been provided in the report, but more detailed information and analysis could be provided to the committee with a future report and presentation. In summary, GPs were generally unconcerned by the changes as long as the quality of service was unaffected; some within the pathology services and unions opposed the changes due to significant disruption that would be caused to current working practices.

·  Currently, the pathology services did not meet quality targets for transported samples and, as a result, samples frequently had to be retaken. A number of measures would be introduced under the new service to overcome and prevent these problems, such as the use of drones to transport samples across the region, the preparation of samples at GP and hospital sites to reduce the likelihood of deterioration, and the use of refrigerated vans.

·  The service changes would facilitate better use of the workforce by bringing staff together to enhance the service, encourage specialisation, and standardise training. No staff would be made redundant as a result of the changes and the NHS terms and conditions of employment would remain in place under the new service, which staff had communicated was important to them.

·  The new service would replace the four distinct ICT systems used by current pathology services in Lancashire and South Cumbria with a standardised Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). The new LIMS would be compatible with other systems used by GPs and hospitals, could be achieved within the existing budget, and would be implemented and in use before the launch of the new pathology hub.

·  The NHS was committed to producing a carbon neutral service by 2023. In line with this, the new pathology hub would provide electric car charging points; have solar panels installed on its roof; and all transport vehicles would be electric. Ensuring the hub's construction was carbon neutral had also increased building costs by £2.5m, but this was considered a worthwhile investment.

·  The recent blood bottle shortage had been caused by a number of factors, including an international plastic shortage, changes to supply lines following the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, and the impact of the Suez Canal blockage earlier in the year. Accordingly, hospitals and GPs had been directed by Government to reduce their blood taking until 19 September 2021, at which point the measures would be re-evaluated.

·  The formation of a single pathology service responded to changes in national policy which had to be implemented. All hospital trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria were supportive of the changes.

The committee thanked Mark for his presentation. It was recognised that the programme of work would benefit the health economy, whilst achieving best use of resources and improving outcomes for patients.

Resolved: That

i)  The report and timescales involved in the programme of work, as presented, be noted;

ii)  The changes were not considered to cause substantial variation to services for Lancashire's residents; and

iii)  A further report would be received by the Health Scrutiny Steering Group in 12 months' time to provide an update on progress and assurance that the programme of work remained on track.