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How can POCT help to alleviate NHS winter pressures?

New point-of-care testing technology boasts rapidly expanding capabilities, and a new piece of equipment from HORIBA offers under-pressure NHS frontline staff laboratory-accurate tests within minutes, allowing them to make quicker treatment decisions.

Even before the advent of COVID-19, the NHS frontline faced significant pressure over the winter period as demand for services generally increases considerably. The onset of cold weather can exacerbate respiratory system diseases and incidences of ‘seasonal illnesses’, such as flu and norovirus, also rise. Post pandemic, winter pressures and planning are now an even greater issue for acute, mental health, community and ambulance service trusts. Particularly since in recent years pressure has been building not only over the winter period, but throughout the year. 

​         To help alleviate increasing pressures over the approaching winter period, particularly in Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC), NHS England this year started even earlier in their planning to increase capacity and operational resilience. The NHS provides care to over 100,000 UEC patients each week, but despite its best efforts, pressures have meant that there have been too many occasions when staff have not been able to provide timely access for patients in the way they would have wanted.1 Over this winter period there is a significant risk that these numbers will increase, as shown by UEC sitrep data from acute trusts published weekly by NHS England from the end of November in previous years. 

​         NHS England has therefore been looking at ways by which these pressures on urgent and emergency care can be alleviated.1 

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Upcoming Events

Pathology Horizons 2024

MacDonald Bath Spa Hotel, Bath
18-20 April, 2024

Diagnostics North East Conference 2024

The Catalyst, Newcastle upon Tyne
19 April, 2024

ECCMID 2024 - European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

Fira Gran Via, 08038 Barcelona, Spain
27-30 April 2024

British Society for Microbial Technology Annual Microbiology Conference

UK Health Security Agency, Colindale, London
2 May 2024

EQA Reports: Interpreting Key Information & Troubleshooting Tips

ONLINE - Zoom
Thursday 16th May 2024

Participants’ Meeting: UK NEQAS Immunology, Immunochemistry & Allergy

Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield
24th May 2024

Access the latest issue of Pathology In Practice on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Pathology In Practice app from your device's App store

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