Modernizing Worcester LIMS

The recent go-live at Worcester marked a significant milestone in modernizing their
laboratory information management system (LIMS). This project aimed to
future-proof their services by upgrading from WinPath version 5 to a more
modern platform, ensuring better compatibility with new equipment and improved
infrastructure resilience.

The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust comprises Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, and Kidderminster Hospital and Treatment Centre. The Worcester hospitals had been using WinPath version 5 for nearly 20 years. The primary goal was to upgrade to a modern platform quickly.

The challenge was the need for rapid deployment to ensure continuity and efficiency across all departments. This urgency underscored the importance of the project and its impact on patient care and operational workflows. The solution involved deploying the latest version of WinPath, with all departments going live simultaneously.  Despite some challenges, the project was completed in 17 months, from initial engagement to processing live patient data. This coordinated launch ensured harmonisation across Worcester’s hospitals , ensuring consistency and efficiency in operations.

The upgrade involved moving from physical servers to a virtual machine environment, enhancing security, resilience, and disaster recovery capabilities. The new LIMS platform offers more options, such as pass-through numbering for ICE and digital pathology, which were not available in the previous version. The integration with EPR systems has also reduced the need for printing, streamlining the workflow and improving efficiency.

The success of the Worcester hospitals  LIMS upgrade was not just about technology—it was about people. The collaborative spirit and proactive support from the Clinisys team were consistently recognised by those involved in the project.

As Helen Jarvie, Divisional Director of Operations at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust noted “Clinisys teams expertise and commitment throughout the project and particularly their onsite presence made everything go much more smoothly.”

This sentiment was echoed by Maz Yildiz, Digital Project Manager, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, who talked about the seamless coordination with suppliers “We had all our suppliers engaged and prepped for Go Live day, with some, like BioMerieux, on site with us. That made a massive difference to the success of the go live.”

According to Amanda Harris, Senior Project Manager, Clinisys, “The Trust management’s proactive attitude and quick decision-making were crucial. They were very receptive to our suggestions and embraced change, which made a significant difference to maintaining the project timeline. It was a collaborative effort of the entire team, including Pathology, Trust IT/infrastructure, Clinisys professional services delivery team, project management, product development, and service teams.”

The modernization of their LIMS platform has set the stage for future innovations and improved patient care. For example, the last version of WinPath has enabled the Trust to enhance and modify the workflows in Microbiology, to embrace the latest technology.  Looking ahead, the Trust will benefit from enhanced capabilities once the upgrade is complete, including improved data integration, scalability, and support for future innovations in pathology services. The team will continue to support Worcester in leveraging their modern LIMS platform for future advancements.