NHS Pilot Project11 Mar 2025 21:37
Northern Care Alliance (for point-of-care testing) is a huge trust, approximately handling the same number of people as Royal Devon and Doncaster & Bassetlaw combined. I think that says a lot about the role POC testing is going to play in national rollout.
“The project will be led by the NHS Network of Excellence in Pharmacogenomics, in partnership with the National Stroke Programme and the NHS Genomics Unit. It will involve four NHS Foundation Trusts: Northern Care Alliance (for point-of-care testing), and Royal Devon, St George’s University Hospitals, and Doncaster and Bassetlaw (for laboratory-based testing).
The project is led by Dr Videha Sharma (Clinical Innovation Lead) and Emma Parnell (Design for Joy), and will follow an design-led approach, meaning it will gather feedback and make improvements as it progresses through the following phases:
* Design Phase (October – November 2024)
* Refinement and Pilot Setup (December 2024 – January 2025)
* Pilot Monitoring and Evaluation (February – March 2025)
This approach will provide a functioning service model that combines laboratory and point-of-care genetic testing at a small number of sites. This will be the first step towards a nationwide service, informed by front-line needs and requirements. These requirements will be shared through the implementation guide as well as inform commissioning decisions. These outputs are anticipated to be delivered in April 2025.”