Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The Challenge

MediServices has partnered with the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) since 2017 to deliver local Neurophysiology services, reducing the need for patients to travel to other centres such as the Walton Centre.

In early 2020, the Trust faced exceptional pressure when routine elective appointments were suspended for three months during the first national COVID-19 lockdown. This created a significant backlog, particularly for EEG patients, alongside urgent demand from inpatients, including the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) where same-day testing and reporting were essential.

“Always a pleasure to work with the admin team. Service always runs smoothly, and communication is fantastic.”

Jane Ryrie, Assistant Manager Neurophysiology, Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The Solution

Drawing on our experience, strong communication, and ability to adapt quickly, MediServices integrated seamlessly with the hospital’s neurophysiology team. We:

Dedicated a specialist team of clinicians to clear the backlog within three months
Introduced weekend and evening EEG clinics to maximise patient access
Delivered urgent on-site EEGs for ITU patients with immediate reporting capability
Maintained flexibility to scale capacity up or down in line with demand

Innovation in Action

Recognising the ITU’s need for instant results, we worked with the hospital’s consultants and IT department to develop real-time EEG reporting. This allowed our reporting consultants to:

Provide verbal reports immediately after or even during testing
Discuss results directly with referring teams
Adjust testing in real time, for example, switching to SSEP for brain death confirmation when required

The Results

Backlog cleared in under three months
Average EEG waiting time reduced to just three weeks, with some patients seen within days
Local access restored, reducing patient travel and improving experience
Seamless integration with hospital teams, ensuring smooth operations and minimal admin burden

“I am happy to recommend the MediServices EMG outpatient service. Certainly efficient. The reports are meaningful and answer the clinical question asked by the referring specialist. I would be happy to continue to use this service and will be looking to extend the contract in due course.”

Mr Mark Webb, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon

Conclusion

By combining flexible capacity, local delivery and innovative real-time reporting, MediServices helped CoCH rapidly recover from the COVID-19 backlog, improve access for patients and maintain high-quality, governance-led diagnostics.