In message <[log in to unmask]>, Paul Eldridge
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>Our immunoassay analyser has been out of action since late afternoon Tuesday
>31/5.
>It is now nearly 12 noon on Friday 3/6. The engineer has been on site each day
>but only now has he convinced himself that he has found the fault (11.30 am)
>and will have it fixed by 13.30 hrs.
>
>No Troponins or HCG/progesterone results which are used for urgent patient
>care apart from limited manual Trop T on a Roche cardiac reader and sending
>others to colleagues elsewhere.
>
>What backup procedures/methods do other labs have for dealing with the
>immunoassay tests they are required to provide 24/7 ?
>
Before we became one Trust in Sheffield, the two labs in the main
hospitals were already rationalising our choices of analysers and now
have duplicate immunoassay analysers on two sites (and common main
biochemistry analysers x3 on each site as well). This does give us
resilience and we are able to help neighbouring labs out occasionally.
Common IT is not essential but it sure makes sample handling much
easier. Surely this is what a pathology network should really be about.
It won't be easy between competing trusts (the net result of choose and
book) but we managed to co-operate before our local political masters
actually got round to it so it should be possible elsewhere as well.
As far as the cost of local duplication is concerned, Trusts will pay
large sums if lack of important urgent assays (Troponin and hCG) mean
patients have unnecessarily prolonged stays, particularly if
unavailability of the assays quickly means that patient management is
potentially suboptimal.
Trevor
--
Trevor Gray
Dept. of Clinical Chemistry,
Northern General Hospital,
Sheffield S5 7AU
0114 271 4309
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