22 August 2023

The LPC Diagnostic & Clinical Support (DCS) team are currently supporting the Diagnostic Network in three separate categories, Imaging, Endoscopy and Healthcare Sciences. Our procurement role is key to supporting the ICB to join up health and care services, improve people's health and wellbeing, and that everyone has the same access to services and gets the same outcomes from treatment, by overseeing money spent and sustaining efficiencies whilst maintaining high quality health services.

The DCS team have recently progressed within the Diagnostic Imaging Network (DIN) category, on the maturity matrix from pre-emergent to emerging due to the fantastic clinical support and engagement on the procurement working group and the work carried out to date on economies of scale on CDC purchases; workstations; asset cross checking via NIDC data for economies of scale, plus the progression with consumable data like biopsy needles, contrast media and outsourced teleradiology reporting contracts.

The work from the LPC DCS team has contributed to Lancashire and South Cumbria’s (LSC) Diagnostic Imaging Network as a whole progressing to a ‘Developing’ Network – months ahead of the national target of December 2023 – which is a fantastic achievement by colleagues across the network.

By working as a network and sharing good practice and resources the services are becoming more resilient. Some key improvements LPC colleagues have supported on are:

  • The Imaging Network delivering 120,000 extra imaging tests which have been provided through new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) - supported by LPC DSC & Capital
  • £4.29 million for additional mobile scanner - supported by LPC DCS & Capital
  • £224k for home reporting workstations - supported by LPC DSC
  • Saving £882,000 from a joint procurement of equipment - supported by LPC DSC & Capital
  • £115,000 from the LSC Cancer Alliance to support a single digital alert system - supported by LPC DSC & ICT
  • New investment in technology whereby the Network is working towards all provider trusts being on the same systems which will help to improve patient care - supported by LPC DCS & ICT

A lot of work has been put into the DIN from the LPC and we continue to work with clinical and technical teams and bringing people together for more collaborative approaches. Therefore, a big thanks to everyone that's been involved.

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