As a consultant healthcare scientist in histopathology and Lead Healthcare Scientist for her NHS Trust, Dr Jo Horne spent the years before the onset of the pandemic seeking to raise the profile of histopathology and healthcare science.
We often think that this is about showing the public that the NHS isn’t only about doctors and nurses, but there is just as much work to do to raise our profile within healthcare systems and organisations across the UK.
It is good to seek out ideas and best practice from those who have gone before, especially where similarities are seen. If we look at nursing, midwifery and allied health professions, it is clear that healthcare science and pathology is smaller, more variable in terms of roles, and may be hidden away behind the scenes or within larger departments. For many years we have sought to have our voice heard and to be included in decision-making at government and systems level. The opportunity has never been better than it is now.
The pandemic has been responsible for raising the profile of healthcare science and pathology, amplified by our role in the testing and treatment of patients with coronavirus. As we recover and develop services, there is attention on and support for staff working in healthcare science and pathology, whether this be increasing scientist numbers via the Scientist Training Programme (STP) or developing cardiorespiratory apprenticeships to train staff to undertake testing on patients suffering with long-term effects of the coronavirus as well as other cardiorespiratory diseases.
In 2021, I made the formal switch from clinical histopathology into healthcare science education and training, moving to the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) as STP Training Programme Director (TPD) and Healthcare Science Dean for the Midlands. Soon after, I took an additional secondment to NHS England & Improvement (NHSE&I) as Lead Practice Educator for the Southern Counties Pathology network.
The 29 NHSE&I pathology networks, first created in 2017, are at various stages of maturation, but have all been tasked with moving from ‘pre-emerging’ to ‘thriving’ stages. A core aspect of this is supporting education, training and workforce transformation across networks, in line with national strategies such as the Long Term Plan and People Plan. The role of Pathology Practice Educators is to drive forward this work by supporting and developing pathology staff across networks and encouraging collaboration and sharing of good practice. Practice Educators also work collaboratively with NHSE&I and HEE partners within regions, and form part of a national team to share examples of successes and good practice with each other. I am relatively new to this role, but it is somewhat humbling to see what can be achieved when people work together towards a common goal, especially as these roles are all less than 12 months old.
Within the NSHCS, TPDs work within teams to support existing healthcare science programmes, including review of curricula to ensure they are fit for current and future purpose. The NSHCS regional Dean roles are also new, and there is now a Dean in every HEE region in England. We work collaboratively with stakeholder partners across regions to raise the profile and voice of healthcare science. Our role is also to identify potential funding streams, improvement programmes and areas of innovation in relation to healthcare science education and training. Although we work within our individual regions, we regularly come together to share good practice, ideas and advice. A good example of this is the recent offer of funding support from Health Education England to colleagues working across pathology in England, providing staff with grants to help them achieve Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration as a Biomedical Scientist. The success of projects like these will be dependent upon a collaborative approach and a ‘can do’ attitude, both within HEE and with our stakeholder partners.
The work of the NSHCS Deans already involves close collaboration with colleagues from NHSE&I, such as the CSO regional Lead Healthcare Scientists and Pathology Practice Educators, and this will increase further with the upcoming merger of HEE and NHSE&I, along with NHS Digital and NHSX. Currently, with a firm focus on healthcare science, pathology and pandemic recovery, there is already innovative work happening within each organisation to support healthcare science and pathology. The coming together of HEE and NHSE&I gives the opportunity to align workforce and service planning with education and training, workforce transformation and leadership, based on a collaborative approach. This can only be of benefit to the profession and patients.
The pandemic has negatively impacted us all in so many ways, but if we lean into the positives, it has brought healthcare science and pathology directly into view. The opportunities are bright, with increasing focus, support and action at both national and regional levels. We now have Deans within the NSHCS, Transformation Leads within HEE and NHSEI, and Practice Educators across various healthcare science disciplines, including pathology. The next few years will see the emergence and development of Integrated Care Systems, Community Diagnostic Centres, and diagnostic academies. Their success will be dependent upon the growth and development of healthcare science services and workforce. The foundations are in place, it is now up to us to build further, by continuing to raise the profile and voice of our profession to drive innovation, improvement and workforce transformation. This will enable healthcare scientists, including those working in pathology, to train, develop and lead across this exciting landscape of change.
I am proud to be a small part of the positive changes that we are seeing across healthcare science and pathology. If you haven’t already done so, please do engage with your NSHCS Healthcare Science Deans, organisational and regional Lead Healthcare Scientists and Practice Educators within your region. By working together towards a shared goal, I believe that we will not only raise our profile, but genuinely transform healthcare science and pathology workforce and services for the better. This will not only benefit us as a profession, but also every patient that we serve.
Further reading
- Health Education England. Update on DHSC announcement of merger between HEE and NHSE/I. London: HEE, 2021 (www.hee.nhs.uk/news-blogs-events/news/update-dhsc-announcement-merger-between-hee-nhsei-0).
- NHS England. Pathology networks (www.england.nhs.uk/pathology-networks/).
- NHS. NHS Long Term Plan (www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/).
- NHS England. NHS People Plan (www.england.nhs.uk/ournhspeople/).
About Jo Horne
Dr Jo Horne is a Training Programme Director and Midlands Dean for Healthcare Science at the National School of Healthcare Science, and is also the Lead Practice Educator for the Southern Counties Pathology network. She has worked in NHS Pathology for 25 years, specialising in gastrointestinal histopathology dissection and reporting. She was in the initial group of trainees in the histopathology scientist reporting pilot, which is now an established RCPath/IBMS programme, and one of the first scientists to complete the programme and gain a consultant post in histopathology in the UK. Jo actively seeks to promote workforce transformation in histopathology, as well as her other interests of compassionate leadership and wellbeing. Jo continues to work closely with professional bodies including the IBMS, sitting on conjoint boards, undertaking verifications and examinations, and has previously represented biomedical scientists as a national IBMS Council member.
