Rakhee Surti gives a guided tour of the point-of-care testing facilities in Milton Keynes and looks at the importance of collaborative working.
I am a Specialist Biomedical Scientist working in a collaborative Project Manager role for Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) and Bedford, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated
Care Board (BLMK ICB), to discover point-of-care testing (POCT) services in primary care (Milton Keynes).
MKUH provides an accredited multidisciplinary pathology diagnostic service to a growing population of around 270,000 people in Milton Keynes (MK). This service includes the provision of POCT in clinics, wards, and acute settings within the trust. It is a robust and quality-led service that is delivered by fully trained and competent staff, ensuring it meets the clinical requirements as well as patient’s needs.
Having an established POCT service within the trust, a number of questions were raised as to whether this service also existed in primary care, and if so, how was it managed? Was it also comparable to the trust POCT service and would it meet governance and national standards, and adhere to the clinical needs of the patient?
The project was therefore initiated to reach out to local GP practices in MK with a clear vision:
- Identify and discover POCT devices and services in use across MK GP practices.
- Document key strategic recommendations – compliance vs. non-compliance, demonstrate good practice and highlight where improvements can be made.
- Deliver benefits in patient care in line with national strategies and Get It Right First Time (GIRFT) standards.
- The project involved me conducting a number of audits at key GP practices, which demonstrated significant findings.
- Support was welcomed by GP practices when findings highlighted gaps in practice, and they agreed that by working collaboratively harmonisation can provide a consistent, aligned POCT service. One local GP said: “Building networks between primary and secondary care can only be a good thing and you supporting this initiative is very much appreciated.”
- Working in partnership can reduce inconsistencies, deliver a quality-led service, and streamline diagnostic access for patients with known and unknown diseases.
- GP practices agree that recommendations demonstrate how they can work towards delivering safer patient care and continuously improve their standards of excellence.
It is clear that working in partnership with your local hospital laboratory healthcare scientists, they are able to provide the expertise, knowledge, and skill-sets to understand what is required of a governance compliant-led POCT service. Working collaboratively as a multidisciplinary network supporting primary care POCT teams on a range of issues, to include purchase of appropriate devices, staff training, results interpretation, quality assurance, patient diagnostic pathways and much more.
POCT is rapidly growing, an essential service for the immediate and swift management of patient care. The future, governed by a Point-of-Care Community Co-ordinator is to transform the service for a growing population and meet the increasing demand for diagnostics. Collaboratively POCT can utilise people and technology to provide a robust cost-effective service, reduce unnecessary acute hospital admission and triage patients effectively, placing the patient at the heart of the system. Reducing NHS pressures and moving towards compliant diagnostic technological advances, the community POCT service will give the right test, at the right time, for the right patient.