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Northamptonshire - the next NHS Trust to order EQMS to support CPA and Clinical Governance Compliance

The Northamptonshire NHS Trust's Pathology Department provides Pathology laboratory services to Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital.

The department comprises several laboratories, over 100 staff and has seen significant increases in workload in common with the national trend.  In addition, the department has added a new Allergy Service and a 24-hour routine pathology service. An element of this additional workload stems from the mandatory requirement, common to all NHS Pathology Departments, to seek accreditation to the Clinical Pathology Accreditation UK Ltd's Standards for the Medical Laboratory.  The  standard requires rigorous control of Standard Operating Procedures, policies and other important documents with regular review, evidence of appropriate approvals and verification of distribution and receipt.

With an ever-increasing body of documentation, a paper-based system was unworkable.  The Department's Quality Manager, Mary Pendleton took on the job of finding an electronic solution.  The chosen solution had to be easy to use and capable of rapid deployment with impending CPA audits offering only a brief window of opportunity for implementation.

EQMS from Qualsys was selected from a shortlist of three applications.  "We chose EQMS because it is fully web-based, easier to use, and fulfils all the requirements of the CPA standard"  said Mary  "Furthermore, Qualsys provided us with a comprehensive implementation plan and will guide us through the transition from paper to electronic systems.  This will be invaluable to us as we roll out the system across all laboratories."

For information about Qualsys contact Robert Oakley on +44 (0)114 282 3338.

Email robert.oakley@qualsys.co.uk