Pathology updates for healthcare professionals

WIN3 programme: Introducing a new laboratory information management system across County Durham, Darlington and the Tees Valley

13 April 2026

Pathology services across County Durham, Darlington and the wider Tees Valley will soon transition to a new Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) as part of the WIN3 programme. This upgrade will strengthen collaboration between organisations and enhance the quality and timeliness of services for both clinicians and patients.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – working together as the Tees Valley Pathology Service – are jointly delivering the WIN3 programme.

The new Clinisys LIMS will modernise how laboratory information is managed and shared, helping to support quicker diagnoses and more efficient care. Migrating to a shared system will replace multiple legacy platforms with a single, resilient, future ready digital solution for pathology services.

Eve Holder, Programme Director for WIN3, said: “This new system will help us standardise processes, improve visibility of results and support more joined up working across our pathology services.”

Implementation activity is already underway, including the alignment of test catalogues and coding across all partner organisations. The new LIMS is expected to go live later in 2026.

Karl Hubbert, pathology director for Tees Valley Pathology, added: “By working together through the WIN3 programme on a single digital platform, we can improve the quality, safety and timeliness of pathology services for patients across the region.”

Raised potassium levels

7 April 2026

Since July 2025, the laboratory teams at North Tees and Hartlepool have detected an increase in raised potassium from some GP practices. This was confirmed by enquiries from primary care. Further investigation has determined that there was a delay to stabilisation of the samples in the laboratory specimen reception.

In February 2026 we implemented a new process of stabilising samples following receipt and this, in most cases, has reduced the number of high potassium results.

We are still experiencing pockets of GP surgeries where samples/results have potassium levels above the expected reference range and we continue to work with these practices to understand the reasons for this.

We examined the same data at South Tees and found that the pattern of that data overall seems to reflect an expected seasonal variation in potassium results.

Potassium reference ranges

We would expect to see up to 5% of samples being above the reference range (5.3 mmol/l). As temperatures increase into the spring and summer months we are likely to see a downward trend in potassium results from GPs.

Store specimens at room temperature

Please could we remind practices that there is no need to refrigerate samples prior to sending them into pathology. This is because at lower temperatures potassium starts to leak out of the red cells which can cause spurious hyperkalaemia. At higher temperature there is less leakage from the red cells, so the advice would be to store specimens at room temperature before collection, rather than in a fridge.

Moving forwards

We continue to work with GP surgeries to assess sample taking times in clinics and any centrifuging being undertaken by practices, we will then cross reference this information against driver collection times and present results and any options that may require a case for change where needed. Within pathology we are discussing which systems and processes we should put in place to actively monitor potassium reporting as recommended by GIRFT.

Pathology samples (North Tees and Hartlepool)

Earlier this year, a communication was shared advising of an upcoming change in the way that pathology blood samples are labelled, which aimed to ensure that patient samples were being processed as quickly as possible. 

Following further development of this project an alternative solution has been identified that will minimise the change seen by service users, whilst still realising efficiencies within the pathology central specimen reception team.   

This change will focus on the way that samples are processed once they are received into the laboratory, reducing the reliance on paper ICE request forms.  

Key messages: 

• Please ensure that no comments are handwritten on ICE forms, instead include all details on the electronic ICE request.   

• Details of the date and time that samples are taken must be written on the sample label rather than the form.  

• To ensure patient samples are processed correctly and efficiently, all samples should be sent to pathology with a new test request in ICE. Please avoid using re-printed forms from ICE, as this may result in the sample being rejected.   

• Each request must have the correct number of samples as detailed on the form – individual samples cannot be used for multiple request forms. 

• All unlabelled samples will be rejected. 

 Please note: 

• For speciality tests that are not on ICE please continue with your current requesting methods. 

• Please continue with your usual process for adding on tests. 

This change will go live on 13 April 2026 with a bedding period of six weeks. During this six-week period the central specimen reception staff will capture any notes handwritten onto ICE forms. After this time handwritten information will not be captured. 

In addition to the anticipated benefits, this change will also allow us to take the first step towards a paper-free future, ultimately improving sustainability and reducing costs for both pathology and service users, while maintaining a high-quality service for patients. 

As we move through this process, we would welcome any feedback to help improve the service. If you require more information, please email: [email protected]  

Haematology analyser downtime (Friarage)

2 January 2026

From Saturday 3 January 2026 our haematology analyser will have a period of downtime whilst we await delivery of essential reagents. This will impact sample processing for haematology at the Friarage Hospital.

During this time, samples will be transported to The James Cook University Hospital laboratory for analysis with urgent samples prioritised. All necessary logistics including transportation have been arranged.

Please anticipate potential delays in result turnaround times. We would also ask that you only contact the laboratory if it is absolutely necessary.

Thank you for your continued support. If you have any queries or questions, please contact Sam Nodding or Kelly Grieve or Rebecca Gallagher on 01642 282637 or extension 52637.