IT Team staff are the proud winners of a national award for the vital work they have carried out to transform Pathology services in the Black Country.

The team won the prestigious Royal College of Pathologists Achievement Award which was given out at the college’s annual dinner last week.

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) acts as a host for the Black Country Pathology Services (BCPS) hub – a single pathology service run by The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and RWT.

Modern IT infrastructure has been key to the transformation of pathology services in the Black Country Integrated Care System. Since BCPS were established at the end of 2018, the IT Team has consolidated the Cervical Screening Programme for the West Midlands and regional Cellular Pathology and Microbiology at the hub.

The team is currently completing the consolidation of Blood Sciences which is emerging as one of the few thriving Pathology networks in England, with a projected saving of £60m over the next ten years.

Nick Fudger, Head of Pathology IT & Transformation, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the team has won this prestigious award – it is a true testament to the fantastic work ethic and collaboration between the IT and clinical teams to deliver complicated change.

“I feel extremely proud and privileged to be a part of this amazing group of talented individuals!”

The talented team is made up of 24 staff and is fully embedded in the organisation and essential for clinical service delivery.

Graham Danks, Group operational Manager, said: “Despite the dual challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery, they have delivered successful large-scale IT implementations while effectively supporting the continuity of clinical services and regional COVID-19 testing.”

The transformational portfolio includes:

• Procurement and implementation of a single Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for the region and its integration with the complex IT of four acute Trusts and primary care
• Integration of new technologies (microbiology automation, digital and computational pathology, automation and specialist equipment for all blood sciences)

Branko Perunovic, Chief Medical Officer, added: “Colleagues from IT are often the unsung heroes of pathology transformation.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to thank them for their can-do attitude, dedication, perseverance, and creativity and for being the torchbearers of our “Patients, People, Pathology” vision.

“Their work was instrumental in helping us become one of the first regional pathology services in the country, a vanguard of integrated care in the Black Country, and one of the few thriving pathology networks in the NHS.”