Hepatitis C testing services to the wider NHS

Samples collected from patients in Norfolk used to be referred to a private laboratory for HCV genotyping. When drugs were prescribed but the treatment failed – which could be due to virus resistance to a particular directly acting antiviral drug – blood samples were then sent to the Reference Laboratory in London for resistance profiling. Due to the turnaround time, some patients actually had to wait a prolonged period in order to receive the results and be re-treated.

This time consuming and long winded process – often taking months – slowed down the effective delivery of clinical services. Furthermore, samples were split, testing was overly costly and – most importantly – there was a significant distress for patients given the time involved.

Dr Dervisevic adds, “We’ve opted out of referring samples to these two external laboratories and instead invested in the latest cutting edge solution of our own which gives us automated workflow from sample to results within just two days so that patients get the right treatment fast. We’re now happy to offer our clinical colleagues access to this modern technology so that they receive a quick, accurate and reliable diagnostic service combined with clinical backup and expertise.”

With a small physical footprint, the compact Vela Diagnostics technology – a combination of a Sentosa SQ Genotyping Assay and Sentosa ST401 instrument unit – is perfect for use in a busy space constrained laboratory setting. The EPA has installed both working in close collaboration with its established vendor neutral managed services partner, Genmed.

The use of a managed services contract (MSC) has meant that the EPA has been able to introduce the new test equipment rapidly and benefit from a pay-to-use approach.

Reenesh Prakash, EPA microbiology network manager explains, “The contract we’ve signed is an interesting one. We’ve agreed with Genmed and Vela Diagnostics the volume of work we’ll deliver over time and adopted a tax efficient MSC where we’re charged per reportable test.”

In addition, a MSC provides the EPA with a host of other benefits. First, it is able to reclaim VAT to give the organisation a 20% budget boost. Second, Genmed provides all administrative support related to arranging equipment maintenance and the ordering of consumables. And third, it minimises operational risk as Genmed takes responsibility for equipment uptime with a SLA set at 90% availability.

Robin Modak, Genmed’s chief executive officer, said, “We’ve been able to put in place the best, most modern laboratory equipment for the EPA with an innovative and flexible charging model. The EPA’s primary duty is assay performance and the provision of care. But it is the patient who is the real winner from all this – as one would hope – as the time from test to accurate diagnosis has been radically reduced.”