Skip to main content
25 January 2021

West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network secures major contract for CliniSys LIMS

Design and implementation work is underway on the deployment of WinPath Enterprise to the ten labs in the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network.

The hosted solution will support standardisation across the network that covers a patient population of 2.6 million and handles more than 50 million tests a year, ahead of the opening of a new laboratory in Leeds in 2023.

A major step in the transformation of pathology services in West Yorkshire and Harrogate has been taken, with the award of the largest laboratory information management system (LIMS) contract won by CliniSys.

The contract will support the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network to safely and effectively handle more than 50 million tests a year.

The deal will see WinPath Enterprise deployed to the four pathology providers in the network, which are Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals, and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS foundation trusts, with Integrated Pathology Solutions, an LLP that serves Airedale, Bradford Teaching Hospitals and Harrogate and District NHS foundation trusts.

Deployment will start in Leeds, ahead of the opening of a state-of-the-art pathology facility at St James’s University Hospital, which was given the green light by planners in August 2020 and is due to open in spring 2023.

Lucy Cole, the programme lead for West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network, said: “A shared LIMS across the network will support us to standardise ways of working between laboratories, and WinPath Enterprise will provide a resilient and sustainable solution for the future.

“A significant amount of background work, including planning, designing and testing the system will take place to prepare for the roll-out. Pathology colleagues from all trusts will be involved in designing the new system and processes.”

Design and implementation work will be carried out remotely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The timeline for the roll-out has also been constructed to make sure that staff working at all six trusts can be engaged with the project, despite the additional pressure caused by the present Covid-19 pandemic.

Donald Saum, senior business development director at CliniSys, said: “This is a fantastic win for CliniSys and we are delighted to have been selected as an enabling partner, supporting a significant change for West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network.

“We are very much looking forward to working with everybody involved in the deployment project, to make sure they get the full benefit of their investment in our technology.”

WinPath Enterprise has been built to meet the needs of modern pathology networks. WinPath enables the management, tracking, interpretation and clinical diagnosis of all types of specimens across all disciplines. WinPath also helps the pathology service to standardise workflows, adhere to clinical regulations to improve efficiency, deliver a quality service for clinicians and patients and provide data analytics to enhance clinical decision making.

The network has opted to take a hosted version of WinPath Enterprise, which means that CliniSys will be responsible for the running and upkeep of the system.

Although this is the biggest single contract that CliniSys has secured for WinPath Enterprise, the company has a track record of delivering for the NHS with greater than 50% of NHS Trusts using its LIMS.