CliniSys to provide single laboratory information system for Northern Ireland
Leading pathology IT supplier to deploy WinPath Enterprise to five trusts, the
This significant investment will underpin the
Clinisys has won a major contract to deploy a single laboratory information system across Northern Ireland as part of a
Clinisys will replace the Seven IT systems used by Northern Ireland’s hospital trusts’ pathology disciplines and the Northern Ireland
In addition,
Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Robin Swann said: “Pathology is a service that operates largely behind the scenes but which is critical to our health service and contributes to the vast majority of patient diagnoses from GP’s and Hospitals. In labs across the region, more than 40 million tests a year are being carried out by our scientists and laboratory staff, to support the healthcare needs of our population.
“The past 18 months have been particularly challenging, with the pandemic placing unprecedented demands on our testing service and reinforcing the need for investment and transformation of our Health and Social Care system, to meet the needs of our citizens in coming years. I believe that a world class digital healthcare service is at the heart of our future needs, and the launch of LIMS is a shining example of transformation being delivered.”
Karin Jackson, leads the Core LIMS project in the NIPIMS Programme (The Northern Ireland Pathology Information Management Systems). said: “Today is excellent news for our health service, and pathology services in particular. It sees us beginning to implement a regional solution that will take us from seven separate systems to a single, Northern Ireland healthcare specific, digital solution. This will enable us to better manage increasing demand,
Jennifer Welsh, SRO (Senior Responsible Owner) of NIPIMS and chair of the Northern Ireland pathology network, said: “The decision to award a single LIMS contract is a big moment in the development of pathology services in Northern Ireland.
“This Regional LIMS solution will generate accurate, real-time information to enable laboratories to benchmark their performance and deliver new insights into the conditions for which tests are being run. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown how important it is to be able to pick up and track infections in the community.”
Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care Board has been working with PathNetNI on a
A consultation in 2016 noted that laboratory tests are already involved in 70-80% of diagnoses, and that demand will grow as health and social care services respond to the needs of an ageing population, advances in cancer medicine, and the spread of genetic testing and precision medicine.
However, it concluded that pathology services in Northern Ireland would face significant challenges in meeting these demands without investment and reform.
The consultation concluded with proposals that are now being implemented to create a single, integrated management structure for laboratories in Northern Ireland, to split ‘hot’ from ‘cold’ work, and to invest in a single LIMS and digital pathology.
Clinisys won the single LIMS contract following an open tender process run by the Business Services
Karen Bailey, Interim Chief Executive of the BSO, said: “A new LIMS is critical to the
“It also underlined that we wanted a system that could deliver a sustainable flow of real-time information to dashboards, so it could be accessed by everybody who might need it.
“The choice of WinPath Enterprise means Northern Ireland’s laboratories will benefit from a single LIMS that has been designed with the needs of modern, pathology networks constantly in mind. We look forward to seeing it rolled-out and to the deployment of
The single LIMS will support the laboratories at Northern Ireland’s five acute trusts and the Northern Ireland
Clinisys will work with digital and pathology experts to develop an effective design and implementation model to deliver at this scale. A single design authority will be set up to configure the system, with representatives from all five trusts and all pathology disciplines.
Clinisys’ deployment team will support the first go-live, which is planned for Belfast Trust in around 18-months. The company will then transfer skills to local digital teams so they can support subsequent go-lives.
Clinisys will also make sure that WinPath Enterprise and
Clinisys chief executive Richard Craven said: “This is a big and exciting project. It is a national deployment for WinPath Enterprise and the first UK deployment of
“We are honoured that