Hampshire Hospitals has become the first Trust in the UK to adopt new state-of-the art technology which helps to identify a life threatening condition earlier.
New diagnostic equipment means that staff can rapidly identify the cause of sepsis, which affects 260,000 people in the UK every year. Early detection can save lives, helping clinicians to provide targeted and more effective treatment sooner.
Consultant microbiologist and clinical lead for microbiology and infection at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Nick Cortes, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time as we are always looking to explore innovative ways to improve patient care through diagnostics.
“This technology brings important benefits to patients as we will be able to get their exact diagnosis earlier, investigate the root cause of sepsis more accurately and get them onto a treatment that we know works, sooner. It will also help to reduce the number of antibiotics being used to treat patients, helping to combat antibiotic resistance.”
So far, the testing kit has been used in 170 cases and early examples have shown that it is having a positive impact on patient care, giving clinicians diagnostic certainty when treating deteriorating patients and preventing the need for some invasive investigations.
The Trust has become an early clinical adopter of the Accelerate PhenoTest kit. As pioneers in the field, the microbiology and infection department will continue to be involved in the development of this technology and will continue to share and present their experiences with colleagues both nationally and internationally.
Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals, which runs Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital, in Winchester, and Andover War Memorial Hospital, said: “We are thrilled to be the first hospital in the UK, and one of only a handful in Europe, to take on this new method of diagnostics as it is just one of the ways we are striving to always deliver the best possible care to our patients.”
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