Providing analytical horsepower

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) teaching hospital in Scotland serves a population of over 500,000 people and processes 3,500 patient samples per day. Seeking to refine its laboratory services—shorter turnaround times, improved patient care, increased cost efficiency, increased workflow, and effective resource utilization—the biochemistry department selected Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics for a long-term Managed Pathology Services™ (MPS) contract that included the provision of ADVIA® LabCell® systems for biochemistry and hematology.


Developments from within
Apart from the installation of the ADVIA LabCell systems, the staff at ARI underwent post-implementation LEAN training from Siemens’ Healthcare Consulting group alongside in-house training to ensure that a philosophy of continuous improvement was in place alongside the new automation solution. Also vital for the staff was cross-training within the department. This meant that all staff would be able to enter data, handle samples, and make decisions regarding samples. The redesign in cross-trained staff allows for the continuous and smooth running of processes even during times of unexpected staff shortages.

Jim Allison, Consultant Clinical Scientist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary comments, "The most noticeable thing about the ADVIA LabCell automation systems we have now is that its sheer analytical power helps us cope with the unexpected events, such as staff vacancies and unscheduled maintenance or breakdowns, enabling us to recover from these events much more quickly."