Aneurin Bevan University Health Board rolls out Clinisys WinPath

The Blood Transfusion service at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) has gone live with Clinisys WinPath.

The service is a long-standing user of Clinisys laboratory information management systems (LIMS), but its LabCentre LIMS had reached end of life.

Clinsys worked with the health board to ensure the latest version of its LIMS would support local workflows, culminating in the deployment of Clinisys WinPath in September 2025.

Stacey Wetherell, haematology department manager at ABUHB, said: “Clinisys is the leading LIMS in the UK, and we knew that other laboratories were using it with the software that we use to remotely issue and track blood and blood products.

“We serve four hospitals, but we only test blood transfusion samples on one site, so integration with our tracking system was vital for us.

“Clinisys committed to further developments and enhancements to incorporate the required NHS Wales workflows, and following much testing we took WinPath version 2023.3.

“Now, we have a modern, robust, and future proof solution that has been well-received by our staff and is good for our patients.”

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board provides its services through several hospitals and health centres in South East Wales, including The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, which handles centralised transfusion sample testing, blood issuing and the onward distribution of blood and blood products for the whole health board.

Clinisys undertook development work to make sure Clinisys WinPath could handle the way blood stock orders are receipted from the Welsh Blood Service. As a result, it now has a LIMS that can support Welsh requirements.

Jennifer Summers, blood transfusion laboratory manager at ABUHB, said: “The go-live was very smooth, but that was a testament to the extensive testing that was carried out prior to go-live (over 120 separate test scripts) and to the training package that the laboratory developed following the Clinisys superuser training.

“Staff have taken to the new system really well. It’s very user-friendly and we’re confident it has given us a great platform for the future,” she said.

Summers added that a benefit of Clinisys WinPath over earlier systems is that it is Windows rather than character based, which means it has the same user interface as other, modern IT systems.

“The use of user-definable rules adds flexibility that our previous LIMS had limited scope for. These rules help guide users through the steps they need to take for different tests and scenarios. This improves efficiency and reduces errors,” she said.

In February 2025, ABUHB selected Better to provide an electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) system in its local hospital areas. It plans to go live in February 2026 providing there are no further delays.