CELLULAR PATHOLOGY USER SURVEY RESULTS 2021
Many thanks to those of you who took the time to respond to our annual survey in 2021 as once again it has proved a difficult year due to Covid.
Over 92% of respondents would rate our service either Good or Excellent.
Technical / Clinical advice :
You said:
- Most issues relate to EPIC. It is not the fault of the pathology service but occasionally it is difficult to figure out how to label and request certain things on EPIC for specimens not sent frequently.
- Often on the phone people are unsure as well but I see this as an issue with EPIC.
- The pathology staff are always very helpful.
We said:
- Cellular pathology staff does not receive the training to order tests and use a different EPIC module. Further training is available for test requesting through the relevant MY Care teams as required.
- We would be happy to put you in touch with them as necessary.
- We are glad you have found our staff helpful.
Turnaround times:
You said
- Sometimes samples have to be sent away, it would be nice to be informed this is the case and informed when they are back. We bring patients back 10-14 days for their results and a few times the results are not available.
We said
- Samples are sent away for external reporting only when absolutely necessary. Reports are authorised as soon as possible once the external reports are received, to avoid any possible delay. The Department is taking steps to retain more cases on-site for reporting.
You said
- Turnaround time does not comply with the RCPath Key Performance Indicator recommendation for our specialty. This issue is flagged up to a higher level for discussion.
- Staffing crisis in subspecialty pathology needs to be addressed promptly by the Trust to mitigate the risk of collapsing service.
We said
- The Trust is taking steps to address this, but there is a national shortage of pathologists.
Histology/Diagnostic Cytology reports:
You said
- I find that reports for histology for sarcomas could be better, particularly when there is interaction with Derriford. There doesn’t seem to be much oversight of specimens when they are transferred between RDE and Derriford, and there is often a delay in either getting specimens transferred and/or reported
We said
- This feedback will be passed on to the relevant team for investigation. However to ensure the highest quality diagnosis, some cases will be sent to specialist pathologists in Derriford. All specimens sent for external reporting are tracked on EPIC, so this information should always be available in the event of any queries.
Suggestions for service improvement:
You said
- Wish there was enough ‘in-house’ capacity to begin a sentinel lymph node biopsy service for head & neck cancer
We said
- We would also like to provide this service and we will continue to work to source the specialist pathologists and additional resources to achieve this.
General comments given about the Cellular Pathology laboratory service:
You said
- Really excellent service with real people at the end of a phone in more complex cases and when urgent requests are required. Only regret the transfer of cervical cytology to Bristol.
- They give a brilliant service and H&N MDTs with respect to pathology are a pleasure.
- Pathologists are always approachable and providing timeliness advice to any urgent cases; the final report is high standard to inform the clinical decision.
We said
Thank you!
