The Christie Pathology Partnership

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes

The service demonstrated a commitment to providing equitable access to its services. Processes were in place to ensure referrals, sample handling, and reporting were managed in a timely and consistent way, supporting fair access for all patients regardless of background or circumstance. The service worked collaboratively with partner organisations to reduce delays and ensure that urgent and priority cases were appropriately identified and acted upon.

The service also promoted equity in outcomes by maintaining standardised processes and quality controls to ensure patients received accurate and reliable diagnostic results.

Find out what we look at when we assess this area in our information about our new Single assessment framework.

The judgement for Person-centred Care is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Responsive key question.

The judgement for Care provision, Integration and continuity is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Responsive key question.

The judgement for Providing Information is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Responsive key question.

The judgement for Listening to and involving people is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Responsive key question.

The provider ensured that people could access the service, support, and results they needed when required. Patients were referred from local areas, including Manchester, and from across a wider geography such as Wales and Scotland. Although the service did not manage patient booking or pathway coordination, it processed all received samples to support equitable outcomes regardless of patient location.

The provider clearly defined service availability. From Monday to Friday, the laboratory operated a limited service between 07:00 and 08:30, a routine service from 08:30 to 17:00, and a reduced service from 17:00 to 21:00. Overnight, from 21:00 to 07:00, the service processed urgent requests only for the immediate management of patients. At weekends, the service provided a limited service from 08:00 to 17:00, and urgent testing only outside these hours. There was no out-of-hours service for histopathology. Specimens received on Saturdays, Sundays, or bank holidays were processed on the next working day. However, selected urgent biochemistry, haematology, and transfusion tests were available overnight through the on-site laboratory to support urgent patient care. Service opening hours and access arrangements were clearly communicated through service user guides available on the partner trust intranet. The service updated and shared these regularly to ensure users were aware of how and when to access services.

The requesting clinician remained responsible for obtaining patient consent for blood sample collection. For specific tests, such as genetic investigations, the service required additional written consent alongside the request form.

Overall, the service demonstrated clear and consistent processes to support equitable access, with defined priorities to ensure urgent patient needs were met at all times.

Staff and leaders demonstrated that they actively considered people who may be more likely to experience inequalities in access, experience, or outcomes. Senior managers explained that the service had clear processes in place for managing abnormal test results. Tests had defined limits, and when results fell outside these parameters, staff took appropriate action, including directly contacting clinical teams to ensure timely escalation and response.

The service supported communication across sites where samples were transferred, including the use of email to ensure results and relevant information were shared appropriately.

While the service did not operate an on-call system, blood sciences provided a 24/7 service to ensure continuous access to essential diagnostics.

Overall, systems and processes supported equitable access to services and timely sharing of information, helping to reduce variation in patient experience and outcomes.