Path Links Pathology Service

Introduction

Path Links is a single managed Clinical Pathology Network operating across Lincolnshire. Formed in 2001 from the amalgamation of NHS pathology services in Boston, Grantham, Grimsby, Lincoln, and Scunthorpe, Path Links resides as a Clinical Division of the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Path Links provides a wide range of diagnostic investigations and clinical services to both Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, as well as to a total of 186 GP practices.

Serving a population of approximately 1 million, Path Links processes 4.5 million specimens, performs 20 million tests and generates 5 million test reports every year. All laboratories are extremely well equipped with modern ‘state of the art’ analysers linked to a central computer system. Equipment and operating procedures are common to all laboratories ensuring that Path Links provides a standardised and seamless service to all service users irrespective of which laboratory they use.

All Path Links laboratories work to national Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) quality standards. Regular assessments by external auditors assess laboratory compliance with the published standards and ensure that the service provided meets the needs and requirements of service users.

Since it’s formation in 2001, Path Links has embarked on an ongoing programme of service change and modernisation that has won both National and International recognition. In a recent National Independent Review of UK Pathology Services, chaired by Lord Carter of Coles, Path Links was described as being the ‘closest to the ideal model of pathology services of the future’.

Path Links has become one of the leading NHS Pathology providers in the UK delivering high quality, responsive and cost effective services to those it serves. With quality at the heart of its operating principles, Path Links has focused attention on the introduction of novel continuous improvement (Lean) techniques to further streamline services in the pursuit of providing ‘world class’ services that meet the future needs, demands and requirements of patients and all service users alike.