The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) has welcomed the 3.8% real-terms uplift over two years in support for the NHS announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the recent Budget. However, in a statement responding to the Budget, the College says there needs to be a stronger investment in diagnostics, especially in pathology.
The RCPath statement says: “In the NHS, diagnostic services are involved in over 95% of patient pathways, making it central to a functioning healthcare system. Screening, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment all heavily depend upon pathology services, potentially impacting patients from before they are born to even after they are dead. Important pathways, like cancer, need pathology to detect, diagnose and treat in a timely manner to ensure optimal outcomes.
“A push for additional appointments to help reduce waiting lists is also welcomed, but this will generate additional demand for pathology services. An additional funding stream needs to be identified to ensure pathology budgets and capacity can absorb this additional workload. Without appropriate workforce planning and investment, pathology will risk becoming a bottleneck contributing to significant delays in healthcare pathways.”
RC Path President Dr Bernie Croal commented: “There are not enough pathologists and scientists to enable services to be delivered safely, effectively and equally across the UK. Pathology is vital for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness and the pathology workforce needs sustained investment to effectively meet the current and growing demand for its services.”
The statement continues: “Given the lack of workforce planning, and the failure to train enough pathologists, it is highly unlikely that the future pathologist workforce will be sufficient to deal with future demands. These are the doctors who diagnose cancer, manage chronic illnesses such as diabetes and ensure effective infection control. They are critical to delivering high-quality services, supervising, teaching and training the future workforce and shaping future services. Investment in the recruitment and training of pathologists and scientists is vital. The processes and funding required needs urgent attention.
“There needs to be significant and sustained investment in modernising the pathology infrastructure, from digital pathology, AI and IT to the laboratory buildings themselves. There is a lack of interoperability between pathology providers, which means results are not easily transferred, shared or available for scrutiny. Funding for skilled IT support staff for laboratories is key to implement and maintain new systems and software needed in the future.”