The August issue of PIP has now been published and is available to read online.
Click here to read the August issue online.
EDITOR’S COMMENT:
We have a plan
So far this summer has seen plenty to think about, not least the long-awaited 10 Year Plan being published. Much of the content was heavily trailed ahead of its launch of course. But new neighbourhood health centres attracted most of the headlines, although keener observers were wondering what had happened to the final chapter on delivering the plan, written by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn but mysteriously missing from the final document. With a few weeks’ worth of water under the bridge since it was published it would be fair to call the overall reaction ‘mixed’. There are many measures which have been received positively, not least the plans for more healthcare to take place away from hospital and closer to the community, or even via the NHS app – an area of debate has been just how these will sit alongside general practice, as well as questions over just how Foundation Trusts and the proposed Integrated Health Organisations will develop and / or sit together.
One of the most positively received aspects has been the measures introduced around the shift to digital – more AI to be used, more functions for the NHS app, an increasing focus on genomics, and, importantly for the diagnostics sector, significantly easier adoption of new technology. Still to come there will be a workforce plan due to be published later in 2025.
Disappointingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, there was scarce mention of pathology in the document. With an expected increase in demand for diagnostic services from new community settings, it is hoped that the future will see more focus on pathology, diagnostics and point-of-care testing. Bodies including the IBMS, RCPath and BIVDA have welcomed the plan, albeit with caveats (see our News section for further details).
The biggest question is still how ambitious changes will be delivered – and a big part of ‘delivered’ translates directly to ‘funded’. With little money in the pot, resident doctors striking, and the economy on a knife edge, it seemingly wouldn’t take much to scupper the laudable aims contained in the plan. We will wait and see.
In the meantime, IBMS Congress gets ever closer – if you’re beginning to plan your visit, our preview starts on page 35 with further details of the scientific programme on offer, and continues with a look at some of the suppliers attending the trade exhibition (a section which will continue into our September issue). You’ll be able to find Pathology in Practice in the foyer area on Stand F10.