Major cancer cellular pathology funding will transform diagnosis

The West Midlands Cancer Alliance has secured £7.8 million of funding to transform how cancer pathology works in the West Midlands and create a solution that means faster diagnosis and better outcomes for patients.

It is currently procuring a technical solution to digitalise its cellular pathology. By early 2021 Trusts across West Midlands, Staffordshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Shropshire and Warwickshire will have the equipment, know-how and support to digitalise all samples and to share these securely with other clinicians and healthcare professionals.

It is the largest procurement of a digital pathology solution within the EU and it comes at a time when it is estimated there will be a 70 per cent rise in the number of new cancer cases over the next 20 years.

It means that traditional diagnostic slides can be scanned allowing pathologists to review detailed digital versions on their computer, allowing for faster and more effective diagnosis. It also means that these images can be shared almost instantaneously, providing better and easier access to a second opinion or for multi-disciplinary meetings for example.

The hope is that it will also help to relieve some of the pressure on our world-leading specialist pathologists, giving them more time to focus on the cases most suited to their expertise and interests. It will also support Trusts to meet the 28-day faster diagnosis standard, improve reporting mechanisms, provide more comfortable work environments, offer the potential for remote working and it is hoped, improve retention among expert staff.

In the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement outlined its commitment to improving cancer survival and diagnosing cancer earlier is one of the biggest actions it can take to achieve this. Digital technology will support this, with diagnostic imaging networks being established across England by 2023.

Belinda Dooley, for West Midlands Cancer Alliance, said “This is a project that will transform the way cellular pathology laboratories function in the West Midlands. It is more efficient, will allow us to share digital samples more safely and overall, reach diagnoses faster for our patients.”

Pathology Network

The NHS is supporting hospital trusts to set up 29 Pathology Networks across England.

The aims of pathology networks are to drive-up clinical quality to result in better patient outcomes by delivering:

  • Faster turnaround times
  • Ensuring the right testing is available at the right time
  • Better access to sub-specialty expertise
  • Give access to new technology
  • Improve service resilience
  • Ensure efficient use of highly skilled staff
  • Deliver economies of scale and purchasing
  • Invest in new equipment, including CT and MRI scanners, which can deliver faster and safer tests.

Broader reforms of the way that diagnostic services are organised – including pathology and imaging networks – will also mean test results can be turned around quickly.

By 2021, all pathology services across England will be part of a pathology network and by 2023, new diagnostic imaging networks will be in place.

In the West Midlands, four networks are in development.  The proposed structures are shown below:

Diagrams