Devon and Cornwall hospitals go live with digital pathology solution

Five NHS sites in Devon and Cornwall have gone live with a digital pathology solution to enable faster cancer diagnosis and give cancer patients better access to specialist options. Sectra’s enterprise imaging solution was rolled out at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in March 2025 and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Exeter in June 2025. The solution will replace the need for pathologists to interact with glass slides, which have historically been packaged and transported when second opinions are needed. Steve Blunden, Peninsula Pathology digital pathology lead, said: “We owe it to people who get cancer to enhance how we deliver our services and allow busy pathologists to collaborate to provide timely, efficient and accurate diagnosis. This is what digital pathology is all about. “For many cancer types, there is often a golden window from tissue diagnosis to starting surgery or chemotherapy to ensure efficacy of the treatment regimens. “Digitising pathology will enhance our ability to deliver treatment to patients in a timely manner, helping to reduce recovery periods and improve outcomes for patients. “Any patient in Devon and Cornwall should expect their biopsy to be reported by the most appropriate pathologist wherever they sit in the region, and to have their report delivered back into their host organisation system so they can be told if they have cancer and start any necessary treatment in a timely way.” A period of clinical validation will take place over several months, before digital reporting becomes mainstream, with a move towards replacing glass slides and microscopes with high resolution digital images, and the modern tools to transform how in-demand pathologists work across the region. Dr Tim Bracey, consultant pathologist at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and clinical digital lead for the Peninsula Pathology Network, said: “My colleagues are very eager to use digital pathology in their diagnostic work. “Mature technology will help to change how we collaborate across the region and facilitate home working which will help to recruit and retain scarce professionals in the area. “Using digital pathology is not only convenient – it is essential for expert review. Viewing very high-quality images, very rapidly, from any part of the region, will help specialists and generalists to maintain and raise each other’s standards. “I expect that the quality of service will increase throughout the region, where reporting and review will be much more seamless.” More trusts are expected to follow soon, including Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – North Devon, and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.