All six NHS Wales pathology labs have had new IT hardware and upgraded software delivering system improvements, increased resilience and easier data management.
Working closely with the supplier Intersystems, the NHS Wales Informatics Service, successfully completed the major upgrade to the national lab system over one weekend in December. Careful planning ensured minimum disruption.
The Welsh LIMS system was introduced in 2013 and is a fundamental part of the modern healthcare IT used to support patient care. The upgrade future-proofs the system until 2025.
With thousands of diagnostic tests processed everyday pathology services play a crucial role in every aspect of patient care and are vital in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Approximately 70% of all clinical diagnoses in primary and secondary care rely on the insight and advice from pathologists. Every year the system processes around 30 million test results, all of which can be accessed in seconds. In December alone, WLIMS handled over half a million COVID tests and more than 2.3 million non-COVID tests.
Results from the Welsh LIMS are shared electronically with secondary care doctors through the Welsh Clinical Portal, with GPs through primary care systems, and with numerous specialist care clinical systems.
First published - 18/01/21