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Rauhfus Children’s Hospital St. Petersburg, Russia
Rauhfus Children’s HospitalSt. Petersburg, Russia
Although there is a growing private sector across Russia, most of its healthcare system remains governmental, with a real focus on modernization. A great example of this is the Rauhfus Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg which closed for refurbishment in 2007 and reopened in 2010, doubled in size and newly equipped. By introducing state-of-the-art diagnostics, they not only improved the working lives of the laboratory team, they also laid the foundations for quicker response times and an increase in the standard of patient care in Russia’s second largest city.
Rauhfus Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg
• Emergency Laboratory
• 77.000 Clinical Chemistry results per year
Time for a change
The Rauhfus Children’s Hospital is situated in the centre of St. Petersburg and offers a unique and diverse clinical environment. In 2010 it reopened after being comprehensively redeveloped and is now a large, modern facility.
Its new design won awards from some of Russia’s leading real estate professionals but, more importantly, the overhaul gave hospital management the chance to examine the best way to improve the service the hospital was offering to the city’s children. Elena Barabashova, Lab Technician, recalls:
“We had always undertaken manual and semi-automated testing with instruments that were very old, and not what we would have chosen ourselves. The cobas c 111 analyzer gave us the chance to move away from that challenging situation.”
The hospital management team knew that with the latest technology installed in the laboratory, the emergency team would be able to generate more reliable results in a shorter space of time. This would mean that they could offer an improved service to the clinicians who could then make treatment decisions much more quickly.
This speed of service is vital for a laboratory that is open for 24 hours each day, 7 days a week responding to high-pressured emergency situations. Under these conditions the cobas c 111 analyzer is the ideal solution for the emergency laboratory at the Rauhfus Children’s Hospital, which receives between 30 and 40 samples per day. Now it can complete hematology and coagulation testing as part of its daily routine while the cobas c 111 analyzer takes care of all clinical chemistry analysis.
As Olga Lebedeva, Laboratory Manager, explains, it didn’t take long for the new analyzer to make a positive impression:
“I can remember how delighted I was to see the machine in position. It meant that we had moved on from our old inefficient manual processes and I was really excited about what the cobas c 111 analyzer would help us achieve.”
“…I was really excited about what the cobas c 111 analyzer would help us achieve.”
Saving time and saving lives
The cobas c 111 analyzer is a powerful instrument that brings convenience and efficiency to laboratories running 10 to 50 samples per day.
It has been designed to be up and running very quickly, with a short daily setup time that enables testing in less than 10 minutes. Once in operation, it enables continuous loading and unloading of virtually any sample tube or cup – and has the ability to perform up to 17 tests simultaneously. This brings real peace of mind for Miss Barabashova:
“For me, the cobas c 111 analyzer answers all of our needs. It is fast, it is reliable and it is convenient. We can put the samples on board and then carry out other duties knowing that, when we return to the machine, everything will be fine.”
Underpinning the instrument’s convenience is an intuitive user interface that is flexible enough to meet different skill and access levels. An online help function provides a quick reference guide and means that even laboratory technicians with very little experience of Roche analyzers can operate the cobas c 111 analyzer in a short space of time – without any errors.
It also makes it easier for the laboratory technicians to access results, as Miss Barabashova explains:
“In an emergency situation it is critical that our instruments are easy to use. We don’t have time to undertake complicated processes in order to get our results. We need to be able to press two buttons and have what we need straight away. That is exactly what the cobas c 111 analyzer gives us.”
xxx....“In an emergency situation it is critical that our instruments are easy to use. We need to be able to press two buttons and have what we need straight away.”
Confidence comes from reliability
In addition to efficient operation and convenience, the cobas c 111 analyzer delivers reliable patient results that are comparable with those of the larger cobas® analyzers.
Roche’s unique cobas c 111 reagent bottles hold the same reagent formulations as those which are run on the larger cobas clinical chemistry analyzers and are a fine example of this reliability. Standardized across the cobas platform, these reagents can be housed in special reagent disks that hold up to 27 bottles for up to 14 photometric tests.
Once loaded into the analyzer, a reagent cooling system ensures long onboard stabilities.
As a result, Miss Barabashova never has to worry about the quality of the results that are being generated:
“I know that the analyzer will always deliver the highest standards. When we look at the method sheets for reagents we can see impressive results in terms of linearity and repeatability. It gives so much confidence to my team, and to the doctors.”
Roche has become a key partner for the Rauhfus Children’s Hospital for a number of reasons, one of which is the innovative technology that comes with cobas analyzers. However, the hospital also needed to be sure that they were working with a reliable partner that was able to provide sophisticated back-up services and training.
As one of the leading in-vitro diagnostics companies in the world, Roche has been able to excel in this regard. Miss Lebedeva explains:
“I think top of our list was reliable technology and stable reagents to help our workflow and cost efficiency. However, we also needed to see high quality service and rapid logistical support. The Roche team has delivered on all levels. They have been with us on every step of the journey – from installation through to ongoing support and advice – and have played a key role in helping us to meet all of our previous challenges.”
“I know that the analyzer will always deliver the highest standards.
It gives so much confidence to my team, and to the doctors.”
Confidence comes from reliability
The overall aim of the investment made by the Rauhfus Children’s Hospital was to improve the health of local children with an increased level of life-saving support.
With the introduction of the cobas c 111 analyzer it is easy to see the progress that has been made. The machine is fundamental in helping the emergency laboratory continue to improve the level of analysis it can deliver.
“The cobas c 111 analyzer is our main worker now. It undertakes all of our clinical chemistry analysis and has completely changed our daily routine.I don’t know how we’d work without it.”
This confidence that Miss Lebedeva has in her instrumentation is a solid foundation on which the hospital can plan for the future.
It means that together with senior management at the hospital she can start to consider how they can work with Roche to take things to an even higher level.
Building a positive future
Rauhfus Children’s HospitalSt. Petersburg, Russia
COBAS, COBAS C and LIFE NEEDS ANSWERS are trademarks of Roche.
©2012 Roche
Roche Diagnostics International LtdCH-6343 RotkreuzSwitzerlandwww.cobas.com
0113
COBAS, COBAS C and LIFE NEEDS ANSWERS are trademarks of Roche.
©2013 Roche
Roche Diagnostics International LtdCH-6343 RotkreuzSwitzerlandwww.cobas.com
