New pathology partnership to support patient care in south east London

A new NHS and industry pathology partnership will support high quality patient care for patients in south east London.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts have joined with SYNLAB UK & Ireland to deliver pathology services across the region.

Together they will also make transformational improvements to pathology services, including the introduction of digital pathology and investment in new laboratories and equipment. Urgent and routine test results will be delivered more quickly leading to faster decisions about patient care, and the service is expected to generate significant savings to the NHS.  

Pathology plays a key role in supporting the diagnosis of illness and devising new treatments to fight viruses, infections and diseases.

As shared owners of the new partnership, the NHS Trusts will set the strategic direction of pathology services, which will continue to benefit from the expertise of present pathology staff, including those working for Viapath, the Trusts’ current pathology joint venture service.

SYNLAB is a specialist pathology provider and brings extensive global experience and expertise in setting up, transforming and running testing and diagnostic services.

In addition to various pathology services and hospital partnerships overseas, SYNLAB has significant experience of working in partnership with the NHS through its three existing pathology joint ventures, which provide modern, bespoke laboratory services to hospitals, GP practices, community and other healthcare services. SYNLAB is Europe’s leading medical diagnostic service provider.

In a joint statement, Dr Ian Abbs, Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Prof Clive Kay, Chief Executive of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “High-quality pathology services are critical to the delivery of safe and effective patient care.

“Our new partnership with SYNLAB provides us with an exciting opportunity to use our collective expertise and innovative new technology to redefine what best practice looks like.

“Together, we are committed to continuously improving our pathology services to support the best possible care for patients in south east London.”

Arnaud Gueny, Chief Executive for SYNLAB UK and Ireland, said: “I am delighted that SYNLAB has been chosen to transform and deliver pathology services in south east London. SYNLAB has proven experience in working successfully with the NHS to provide world-class laboratory and pathology services.

“We pride ourselves on the difference we make to NHS patients and clinicians by providing reliable, effective and timely diagnostic information.

“We have shown how combining our expertise, capability and resources has successfully transformed pathology services. Through our existing NHS partnerships we can evidence a range of tangible benefits which enhance clinical decision making, improve patient treatment and care, and allow the NHS to increase spending on alternative patient services.”