HPV self-sampling automation at Black Country Pathology
Black Country Pathology Service (BCPS) is using a new HPV self-sampling TalkingPoint automation to register returned HPV home testing kits in its laboratory information management system (LIMS), removing the need for staff to key in patient details by hand. The automation went live just five weeks after NHS England launched home HPV testing. It is already reducing the risk of transcription errors and will deliver growing efficiency savings as sample numbers rise.
Since late August 2026, NHS England has been sending HPV self-sampling kits to people who have not responded to cervical screening invitations. Each returned kit carries a barcode containing the patient’s details, which must be recorded in the receiving laboratory’s LIMS before the sample can be processed. TalkingPoint’s attended automation reads this barcode and enters the information into the LIMS, with staff checking each record before it is saved.
The automation went live at BCPS earlier this month. The first samples registered using it passed successfully through the full laboratory workflow, with results issued to patients the following day.
NHS England is steadily increasing the number of invitations is sued. BCPS, whose cytology laboratory serves much of the West Midlands, anticipates that it could eventually receive hundreds of self-samples per day.
Reece Humphreys, Biomedical Scientist at BCPS, who supervises specimen reception and processing, says:
“Self-sampling is a completely new workflow for cytology. It has required us to build a lot of new processes, procedures and standards for safety and quality.”
Each kit barcode holds around 20 items of patient information. Without automation, every item would have to be keyed into the LIMS by hand. TalkingPoint presents the extracted details for checking and automatically determines whether the patient is new or already registered in the LIMS. If the patient is new, the automation saves their details to the LIMS automatically. If the patient is already known to the laboratory, the sample is registered against the existing record. Staff need only add the date the sample was taken.
“There was a real concern that registering the HPV self-samples would have to be a manual process,” says Reece. “We had already seen firsthand the risk associated with that. With large numbers of samples, people can lose focus when entering data.”
Currently, staff confirm each stage before the automation proceeds, with additional checkpoints supporting staff training as the new workflow is embedded. At today’s volumes the priority is accuracy, but as sample numbers increase the automation will also deliver significant time savings.
“There is a patient at the end of every single sample,” says Reece. “Having human oversight, and using the TalkingPoint HPV automation, allows the sample booking in process to be quick and safe. Working with TalkingPoint has been a positive experience, and we are extremely grateful for the team’s agility in developing a solution to meet our needs.”
Malcolm Grant, Managing Director at TalkingPoint, adds: “Every value extracted from the barcode is displayed, so the operator always has the last say. It means that accurate data goes into the LIMS quickly, and if anything changes, staff can still correct a field far faster than entering everything by hand.”
HPV self-sampling is currently an NHS England programme. NHS Scotland is piloting it, NHS Wales plans to introduce it and Northern Ireland is considering a national recommendation. With every cytology laboratory facing the same new workflow, the HPV booking in automation offers a practical solution for laboratories across the UK as HPV self-sampling expands.
Find out how TalkingPoint can support your laboratory
As HPV self-sampling expands across the UK, laboratories need efficient, accurate and scalable ways to manage increasing sample volumes. TalkingPoint automation can help streamline sample registration, reduce manual data entry and minimise the risk of errors, while keeping laboratory staff in control.
Contact the TalkingPoint team today to discuss how HPV self-sampling automation could support your laboratory’s workflows and improve efficiency.
