Great Ormond Street Hospital

“I would thoroughly recommend CellNass as they make every effort to meet the customer’s needs and they understand the requirements of the NHS. Their team have helped to produce a very successful working relationship with the staff in the laboratory. They are always willing to listen to suggestions and to change their methods and working practices, if necessary, to accommodate our needs. Above all, from the very early stages until now, they have always provided a highly personal service.”

What were your reasons for looking at offsite archiving?

Prior to using CellNass, Blood Spot cards (Guthrie cards) used for Newborn Screening were previously stored in boxes (1 per day) in a basement area of Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). These records dated back to 1990.

GOSH was about to start the next phase of their refurbishment which meant vacating the area used for storage. On-site storage was considered but being based in central London, space was both expensive and at a premium.

What attracted you to CellNass?

Great Ormond Street went through a full tendering process and CellNass fully met our specifications. What impressed us most about CellNass was their willingness to meet our needs, modify their current practices and design new systems such as tailor made boxes for the cards. They had a good understanding of the need to treat Blood Spot cards as specimens which require anonymous storage at all times, rather than just documents.

How has CellNass performed?

The initial uplift was extremely efficient and completed swiftly. When removed from our site, the documentation and cataloguing of the cards were very comprehensive and extremely easy to follow.

We now require monthly uplifts and retrievals within 24 hours. There are designated people at CellNass who receive our requests and are very prompt in their response. The process is auditable and there is a written policy that both parties adhere to.

We also require the Blood Spot Cards to be kept in a secure, dry environment with monitored fire detection and protection. CellNass has certainly delivered on these key criteria.

What benefits have you seen from using CellNass?

First and foremost, the space previously used for storage is now part of a major redevelopment for the hospital.

Storing offsite has also meant GOSH staff do not have to spend time moving large quantities of boxes  to the storage areas and searching for requested cards out of storage. We now have a properly managed, improved archived system that is very reliable and accessible. The health and safety concerns when storing materials onsite have also reduced.


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.

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