Events on 27 September 2023

Transient Abnormal Myelopoiesis

Coagulopathy has been shown to play an important role in COVID 19 infection. Reported abnormal coagulation laboratory values in severe COVID-19 are most notably a 3-to-4-fold increase in D-Dimer (Yao et al., 2020).

Several studies showed that elevated D-dimer in COVID-19 patients is associated with higher mortality. A retrospective cohort study carried out by Zhou, et al. (2020) also associated D-Dimer > 1000ng/ml with higher odds of in-patient death.

At the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, there was no consensus as to how D-Dimer levels should be used for the management of COVID-19 patients. In April 2020, PAHT decided to use a D-Dimer cut-off of 1000 ng/ml to determine anticoagulation dosage. The source of reference used by PAHT in their decision making employed a D-Dimer assay with a cut off value of 500 ng/ml for the exclusion of venous thromboembolism (VTE). This raised an issue as the source of reference used by PAHT at the time employed a D Dimer assay with a cut-off value of 230 ng/ml for the exclusion of VTE. This meant the trust was unable to implement the new COVID 19 care bundle at the time. The haematology laboratory wanting to do whatever possible to assist patient care agreed to change the current D-Dimer methodology immediately to support the trust COVID 19 care bundle.

The verification and implementation of the new D-Dimer assay with cut of 500 ng/ml for the exclusion of VTE was completed within four weeks. A risk assessment and a change control were put in place to ensure users were made aware of the change in cut-off limit.

This verification and implementation of the new assay was possible through the hard and collaborative work of the haematology technical team with shared vision, motivation coupled with team engagement and strong leadership.

The Royal College of Pathologists has led an initiative to improve the transparency and standardise the operation of external quality assurance for providers of clinical diagnostic testing in the UK. This project has resulted in the development of the EQA Governance Framework, bringing together the current system of the National Quality Assurance Advisory Panels and the other stakeholders. Most diagnostic service providers are aware of the Panels, to which the EQA providers report performance concerns relating to UK laboratories, but perhaps are less certain on the criteria for reporting and the involvement of other oversight bodies, e.g., the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency and the Care Quality Commission.

The EQA Governance Framework has been developed through four separate workstreams. Workstreams 1 and 2 cover the governance and description of the process and have developed a portfolio of documents designed to support a standardised approach to the investigation and resolution of performance concerns with individual laboratories and method related problems.

Fundamental to the management of laboratory performance is the definition of unsatisfactory or poor performance, for qualitative and quantitative testing, in terms applicable to all pathology disciplines, and the action points at which the EQA provider will consider the escalation of a performance concerns to the oversight process. A challenging aspect of the work has been the development of procedures to recognise and manage method-related performance concerns, especially when working with global providers of testing platforms.

This long-term project is intended to strengthen the oversight of diagnostic testing, ensure the sharing of learning points and best practice and benefit patient safety.

Overview of Governance and Escalation of Persistent Poor Performers," we will be discussing the governance structure of EQA in the UK, as well as poor performance and escalation. We will provide three examples and encourage audience participation

The session will provide an overview of the qualifications that the IBMS offers in those who are carving out a career in Histopathology after they have achieved their specialist level qualification. It will outline the DEP and ASD in Histological Dissection, DEP in Immunocytochemistry and the ASD in Histopathology Reporting qualifications and other related qualifications.

It will explain who these qualifications are aimed and provide an outline of how they are assessed, how candidates can achieve these qualifications and what roles successful candidates can go on to undertake.

Join your network workforce leads/practice educators for a solution focused discussion around workforce challenges. Find out about current education and development opportunities with specific emphasis on support workers, advanced clinical practice and leadership. We welcome your participation in helping to shape the future of your pathology workforce.

You are invited by the speakers to complete this online form before the presentation

Networks – how Greater Manchester is making it work for them

Shared training – the Scottish Training Academy to Registration Portfolio training

This talk is designed to be a “get ready” session where we introduce the ePortfolio system and present a high-level overview of the extensive features that Onefile offers, whilst simultaneously streamlining administration and reducing repetition. This will form an essential training and familiarisation opportunity for both trainers and trainees.

Digital tools are revolutionising the way researchers, clinicians, and educators manage and showcase their qualifications and career milestones. The IBMS are excited to be part of that revolution by launching version 5 of our Registration Training Portfolio on Onefile, a leading ePortfolio platform. The transition to a digital-only solution hosted by Onefile will redefine how students, apprentices and laboratory-based staff complete this integral part of their journey to HCPC registration as biomedical scientists.

Onefile offers a multifaceted approach to collating, managing and auditing a portfolio of evidence; simultaneously providing a robust and efficient process for training officers and managers to support and supervise the journey of their trainees from enrolment, portfolio completion and finally to successful verification.

Rather than providing a demonstration of Onefile per se, this talk will allow delegates to see how the platform can be easily embedded into their existing training structure. We will suggest a delivery workflow so users can maximise the features and benefits of Onefile and we will outline a roadmap of user training, plus other support to facilitate the transition to Onefile in their laboratories and / or universities over the coming months.

This talk will be informative for anyone who is involved in or responsible for pre-registration laboratory training, in particular portfolio candidates, training officers, laboratory managers and university placement tutors.

Additional talks focusing on specific elements of Onefile are scheduled for the free seminar programme on Thursday. These talks will specifically consider Onefile from the perspective of trainees and trainers (11.00am, Hall: 4), and training officers/laboratory managers/portfolio verifiers (2.30pm, Hall: 4).

Join your network workforce leads/practice educators for a solution focused discussion around workforce challenges. Find out about current education and development opportunities with specific emphasis on support workers, advanced clinical practice and leadership. We welcome your participation in helping to shape the future of your pathology workforce.

You are invited by the speakers to complete this online form before the presentation