Simon Ward discusses POCT equipment in response to covid-19 to prevent hospital admissions as part of the Diagnostic Testing Conference

1. POCT equipment in response to Covid-19 to
prevent Hospital admissions
Simon Ward
Medical Devices Manager
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
10th June 2020
simon.ward5@nhs.net

2. Background:
• Community NHS Trust covering Hertfordshire (1642 km2)
• 1.2 million population
• Providing adult and children's services
• Limited adoption of POCT equipment pre Covid-19
• Previously investigating Prevention Of Admission (POA) in
response to the NHS Long Term Plan

3. Expected Benefits:
• Prevent unnecessary admissions
• Increased information to support clinical judgement
• Improved patient outcomes – faster treatment
• Prevent unnecessary treatment while awaiting test results
• Provide patient reassurance that they can stay at home
• Allows develop of additional pathways

4. Chosen POCT Tests:
• C-reactive protein – CRP
• D-dimer
• Urea and Electrolytes – U&Es
• White Blood Cell (WBC) Count & Differentials

5. Equipment Selection Criteria:
• Portability
• Purchase cost and running costs
• Ease of use
• Reliability
• Customer support
• External Quality Assurance

6. Finecare Analyser
CRP & D-dimer tests
CRP test
requires pin
prick sample:
D-dimer
requires
venous sample:

7. Finecare Analyser – Additional tests:
• Covid-19 (available on Finecare Plus)
• CRP (C-Reactive Protein)
• PCT (Procalcitonin)
• 2in1 CRP/PCT
• SAA (Serum Amyloid A)
• 3in1 CK-MB, Myoglobin, Troponin
• Troponin
• CK-MB
• Myoglobin
• NT-ProBNP
• BNP
• H-FABP
• D-dimer
• Vitamin D
• MAU (Microalbumin)
• HbA1c
• CysC
• NGAL
• Β2-MG
• AFP (AlphaFetal Protein)
• βhCG
• PSA (Prostate Specific Antibody)
• fPSA
• AFP
• CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen)
• T4
• TSH
• T3
• FSH
• LH
• Prolactin
• Progesterone

8. Abbott i-Stat Alinity
Urea & Electrolyte tests
CHEM8+ Cartridge
Tests:
U&E test
requires
venous sample

9. Abbott i-Stat Alinity
Additional tests:

10. HemoCue WBC Diff
Differentiated WBC test:

11. Findings so far:
• Training, training, training
• High staff confidence - good correlation with
laboratory results
• Staff very supportive of project
• Delivering better patient outcomes
• Preventing admissions

12. What next?
• External Quality Assurance (EQA)
• Additional pathways being explored
• Exploring additional tests and equipment
• Expanding locations

13. Questions ?
Simon Ward
Medical Devices Manager
simon.ward5@nhs.net