Client

Programme Support for Clinisys ICE and WinPath Enterprise LIMS Upgrades

Discover how Adecco and Exarlis supported an NHS organisation to progress two critical pathology system upgrade programmes.

About the Client

The North Midlands and Cheshire Pathology Service (NMCPS) is responsible for pathology services across North Staffordshire and Mid and East Cheshire.

The Challenge

Adecco is a longstanding partner of NMCPS, as well as their host Trust University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust. In October 2025, the client approached our Adecco NHS sector head to secure additional specialist support for two programmes running in parallel:

Clinisys ICE OrderComms upgrade (version 7.1.9 to 2024.2) – including hardware repositioning and running two versions in parallel, with full cutover planned for June 2026.
Clinisys WinPath Enterprise LIMS upgrade (version 7.24 to 2023.2) – including a hardware and software upgrade and implementation into the University Hospitals of North Midlands.

The client also wanted their existing pathology IT staff to remain closely involved in delivery, so knowledge could be embedded for long-term system support.

Our Solution

Adecco partnered with Exarlis, an NHS Digital Health Consultancy with a longstanding track record in delivering challenging LIMS and OrderComms implementations, under a Statement of Work (SOW). This provided an outcome-based approach tied to key deliverables. The model included:

A focused discovery session to confirm delivery readiness and priorities, drawing on insights from previous Exarlis engagements.
Rapid delivery of early ‘quick wins’ during the initial six-month phase.
Specialist advisory and technical expertise across pathology system upgrades and implementation.
Upskilling and knowledge transfer to support long-term in-house capability.
Ongoing engagement and coordination with key stakeholders.

Team and Onboarding

Adecco and Exarlis deployed:

Exarlis consultants to provide delivery assurance and technical advisory across ICE and WinPath upgrades.
IT Engineers to strengthen pathology IT first and second line support, enabling the client’s staff to stay focused on the upgrade programme and knowledge transfer.
Engineers were able to draw on their background in pathology experience, with a plan to integrate their delivery into more core pathology work over time and support the influx of pathology IT talent into the local talent pool.

IT Engineers were pre-screened and helped through onboarding by Exarlis consultants to ensure a smooth transition into the work environment.

Focused Discovery

Adecco and Exarlis ran short discovery sessions over four weeks in November 2025. These were designed to quickly confirm current state, dependencies, and readiness – mapping a clear route to deliver upgrades safely without minimising disruption.

There was a strong desire to engage and involve NHS permanent staff during discovery sessions, with a focus on a common purpose and collaboration, rather than treating it as just an external review of previous work and strategy.

Early Delivery Actions

Adecco and Exarlis delivered the following in Q1 2026:

Re-baselined ICE and WPE plans with clear ownership, critical paths, and evidence gates.
Resolved ICE pre-production connectivity and addressed Inform/Salutare interface dependencies.
Paused and reset the approach to PathManager legacy data and gained approval to run bespoke automated testing options based on a comprehensive risk assessment.
Created additional project governance for ICE and WPE upgrade projects.
Agreed the primary care testing assurance approach
Established stronger relationship management and communication cadence with Clinisys ICE and WPE Project Managers, holding supplier to account for deliverable quality and delivery dates

Additional Support

During delivery, Adecco and Exarlis identified significant inefficiencies in pathology reporting, especially connected to the extent of manual data extraction from core pathology systems. Adecco quickly engaged an NHS BI Reporting Specialist to stabilise reporting in the short term and develop longer-term options.

Our additional BI reporting service is currently developing solutions and recommendations focused on improving reporting processes and resilience. These solutions vary in complexity, and some may require fundamental changes to reporting infrastructure, as well as knowledge transfer and training for permanent NHS staff.

Adecco and Exarlis have also been asked to provide additional resources to address a capacity gap in Pathology IT Systems Administration.

A further engagement has also commenced to continue supporting ICE and WinPath Enterprise go-lives, seeing NMCPS safely and efficiently through their LIMS and OrderComms go-lives.

Results

Discovery recommendations helped protect UAT timelines and avoid milestone slippage.
A custom Exarlis-built Python automation script generated consolidated test metrics from individual events, removing manual collation for board reporting.
Pareto analysis supported test prioritisation and accelerating critical testing.
Addressed confidentiality risks by highlighting the need for supplier to remove patient data from pre-production LIMS and related environments, clearing blockers to testing.
Engagement continues, including longer-term reporting improvements expected to drive efficiency over time.

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