The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, visited Stepping Hill Hospital last week to witness firsthand the transformative impact of digital pathology on patient care and medical diagnostics. This visit underscores the city’s commitment to embracing advanced healthcare technology and innovation.

During the visit, the mayor met with leading pathologists and healthcare professionals, who demonstrated how digital pathology is revolutionising the field and enhancing patient care. By digitising glass slides into high-resolution images, this technology allows for faster and more accurate diagnosis, enabling specialists to collaborate seamlessly regardless of location.

The mayor toured the hospital’s pathology laboratory, where experts explained how the new digital pathology process is being integrated to assist in detecting diseases with greater accuracy and efficiency. The implementation of digital pathology at Stepping Hill Hospital represents a significant step forward in modernising medical diagnostics and reducing turnaround times for patients waiting for test results.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said, ‘It’s been a true education for me to visit to see how pathology is changing in Stockport and across Greater Manchester. The benefits of digitalisation are going to be huge for patients and for clinicians. It’s crucial that we support the team here in every way to bring those benefits forward as much as we possibly can. We know our Greater Manchester team are working hard to move pathology forward in terms of digitalisation but now I’ve been here and seen the amazing work the whole team is doing. It really is an amazing production line of detailed, dedicated, and highly professional work.  What we’ve got to do is not allow pathology to be hidden at the back of the hospital, recognising how crucial it is to patient care and support the team to get the benefits we can now achieve through digital pathology.’

John Graham, Deputy Chief Executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said “Our pathology team are very proud to use the latest digital techniques in their work, which is set to have a really positive impact in improving diagnosis for patients. It was a pleasure for us all to show these exciting new methods and technologies for Mayor Andy Burnham.”

Chris Sleight, Chief Officer, Greater Manchester Diagnostics Network said, ‘It was a pleasure to welcome Mayor Andy Burnham to Stepping Hill Hospital and show the advancements we are making in Greater Manchester to provide better patient care.

Digital Pathology is having a positive impact, speeding up diagnoses for patients, which leads to faster treatment and ultimately saves lives.’

Digital pathology is being rolled out to seven laboratories across Greater Manchester, which will allow pathologists from different organisations to collaborate, reduce turnaround times, and improve diagnostic outcomes. Stockport laboratory was the first in Greater Manchester to go technically live with the new technology, and are now using the technology to improve patient care and outcomes.