Addenbrooke's NHS Trust
“One aspect of the CellNass storage service is that the slides and blocks are placed in better conditions than often exist in hospitals, in CellNass, conditions are ideally suited to the purpose and more likely than not, better than spaces used for storage in hospitals.”
What were your reasons for looking at offsite archiving?
For many years, we used a large basement to store slides and blocks stretching back to the 1950’s. As the available space to store was forever reducing, we considered moving the blocks off-site, at first into our own storage facility. However, arranging and managing this ourselves left us with security and retrieval issues into the future.
We explored a range of options and identified a number of key considerations. Any storage facility would need to be secure as the materials being stored are confidential and we have a duty of care to ensure they are safe and protected – which makes it very different to storing paper and equipment.
Secondly, we needed effective access and retrieval with samples back in a couple of days – so an efficient system was important. Also, as we carry samples linked to transplant patients, traceability was very important, as these would inevitably be recalled in the future.
How has CellNass performed?
CellNass packed our slides onsite and coped extremely well with the difficult and dirty conditions in our basement. They were not fazed by the uplift task at all.
In CellNass, conditions are ideally suited to the purpose and more likely than not better than spaces used for storage in most hospitals.
We did take the time to visit the facility at CellNass and see the operation for myself – particularly the area of tracking and traceability, as well as risk assessment and staff training. The evidence was a well-run facility with effective procedures and a good culture amongst the staff.
What benefits have you seen from using CellNass?
The old basement is now used for a variety of things including a new sample preparation area, and fridge and freezer storage.
Moving materials away from the hospital becomes a shared responsibility. Samples always need to be available and your storage partner needs to be someone you can trust. The fact CellNass has an HTA license provides an appropriate level of reassurance.
A further comfort for us is the fact that CellNass is dedicated to the purpose of their customers which means they are probably in it for the long run. This is very reassuring when you consider how long we need to store samples for.
We are always happy to welcome customers to have a look at our facilities - if you'd like a tour, please use the form on the right and a member of our customer care team will be in touch to arrange an invitation to visit.