Kent and Medway Pathology Network (KMPN)

Welcome to Kent and Medway Pathology Network

Our vision:

To be a thriving, sustainable, high quality, integrated, and innovative patient-centred pathology service, enabled by cutting-edge equipment and I.T.
That there is a place in the network for everyone wherever we work; growing our own flexible and harmonised outstanding team, leading at all levels as part of the clinical team.

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The Kent and Medway Pathology Network (KMPN) is a collaborative partnership between the four acute Kent and Medway NHS Trusts; East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (DGT) and Medway NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). DGT and MFT operate via a joint venture called North Kent Pathology Service (NKPS), which provides pathology services to both Trusts and their associated users.

Each pathology service provides blood sciences, blood transfusion and microbiology services. The following additional services are provided at specific locations:

Andrology: at North Kent Pathology Services and East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.
Cellular pathology: at Maidstone Hospital and William Harvey Hospital.
Immunology: at William Harvey Hospital.
Regional haemophilia service: at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

For further information and details on specific pathology services and provisions, including a pathology users handbook and test catalogues provided by each Trust, please visit their local webpages;

Each pathology department operate United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) assessed laboratories, many operate 24-hour or on-call services providing high quality, accurate technical services with quick turnaround times. Each service provides expert scientific interpretation and specialist clinical advice to hospital clinicians and GP services.

The network operates as a ‘unit organisation hosted by one Trust” – this is structure where each member of the network is still a sovereign organisation but common/network posts are hosted by one of the members and we have legally binding shared principles of operation. The collaborative strives to deliver an innovative and sustainable pathology provision, delivering high-quality patient focused care, across various clinical and diagnostic pathways, as well as addressing health inequalities across the region. This alliance allows pathology services in the region to better manage demand, standardise operations, embed new technologies and provides a great opportunity to support staff training and development.

In response to the 2017 NHS Improvement Directive, the Trusts in Kent and Medway formed a Pathology Programme and established what is now the new KMPN. KMPN is undertaking a range of transformation programmes in order to consolidate pathology services to allow for more consistent, clinically appropriate turnaround times, making sure the 'right test is available at the right time’ (Kent and Medway Interim Integrated Care Strategy).

These are:

introducing a common Laboratory Information System (LIMS)
procuring a single Managed Equipment Service (MES) contract
developing a single workforce strategy and plan
implementing digital pathology
standard operating procedures (SOPs).

As part of the Kent and Medway Pathology Programme, there has been substantial funding and investment in the projects, including new state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and a single laboratory information system. Further investments focusing on digital imaging and artificial intelligence (AI) will form a large part of future pathology services.

For more detail on the progress of the specific programmes, please see ‘Our programmes’