Horiba UK Medical has announced that Thame and Marlow Community Hubs, within Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, have each installed the company’s latest point-of-care testing (POCT) analyser, the Microsemi CRP. These new analysers are now streamlining existing diagnostic pathways in the community and helping to reduce local accident and emergency (A&E) admissions for frail patients.
The Microsemi CRP is a compact and user-friendly POCT analyser which delivers a three-part differential full blood count (FBC) combined with a C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement from a single 18 μL whole blood sample within four minutes. Information gathered from the analyser is of great value in determining the presence of bacterial infection and inflammation, and, given the speed of results delivery, patients can receive the treatment they need straight away, or be referred appropriately and without delay.
Opened in 2017, the new Frailty Assessment Hubs located at Thame and Marlow Community Hospitals offer a ‘one-stop shop’ for frail patients in the locality to receive the care they need closer to home. These also have the added benefit of reducing pressure on the local acute sites by reducing unnecessary admissions, particularly during the busier winter months. Teams of elderly care consultants, nurses, therapists, paramedics and GPs are available on site to provide expert assessments, undertake tests and agree a treatment plan with patients. If required, they can refer patients to the right community or hospital team to provide ongoing support or treatment.
Commenting on the beneficial impact of the Microsemi CRP analyser, Staff Nurse Shelagh Wojtowicz (Marlow Community Hub), said, “Patients see it as an advantage. Before the analyser was installed, we sent our samples away via two collection slots. This meant that patients were not able to access their results for one or two days, whereas now we can perform a combined FBC and CRP, see a result within four minutes and take the relevant course of action almost immediately.”
Mandy Campbell (Sales & Marketing Manager, Horiba UK) said: “We are delighted that the installation of the Microsemi CRP analyser at these vanguard Community Hub sites can enhance the quality of service delivered to patients. These instruments have become an integral part of improved, streamlined local healthcare by rapidly providing laboratory-quality results in a conveniently accessible POCT setting.