A new report has shown that the UK can build a more preventive, efficient, and resilient healthcare system fit for the future by prioritising investment in in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) across the NHS.
The Power of Testing report, developed by Roche Diagnostics in partnership with the Institute of Biomedical Science - and supported by The Royal College of Pathologists, and the Association for Laboratory Medicine - builds on the ambitions set out in the Government’s recent 10 Year Plan for the NHS to demonstrate the urgent need to better utilise IVDs in order to unlock transformational change that will guarantee the sustainability of the service for generations to come.
Diagnostics have an essential role in patient care delivery, but they are continually overlooked in planning and investment: while IVDs help guide over 70% of clinical decisions, they receive less than 1% of NHS budget allocation. Given the part IVDs can play in getting the right care to patients efficiently, the report shows how sufficient funding for IVDs will be crucial for realising the 10 Year Plan’s ambition to shift healthcare to a more preventative, personalised, and community-based model, as well as support system efficiency and economic productivity.
The report also highlights how the expertise of the biomedical workforce should be harnessed to lead on pathway redesign and coordination of IVD adoption across the NHS, drawing on their experience of translating innovation into safe and effective clinical practice.
In order to fully realise the potential of IVDs for the health service, the report’s authors call for the Government and NHS system leaders to:
- Mandate equitable funding for diagnostics, including a roadmap setting out how mandated funding can be scaled up with the biomedical workforce leading in pathway redesign to ensure efficiency and equity
- Invest in the biomedical workforce, recognising their pivotal role in delivering, interpreting and integrating IVDs into clinical pathways. Investment should include support for training, advanced roles, and system leadership to ensure safe and effective deployment of diagnostic innovation
- Utilise expertise and infrastructure to support the adoption of innovation across the NHS, with a cross-sector working group of stakeholders collaborating on implementation
- Champion the role of non-imaging diagnostics, raising awareness of the impact of IVDs on care through key organisations such as the IBMS who already work to champion the importance of the sector
The report spotlights key examples of NHS Trusts which have implemented innovative diagnostic pathways using IVDs. These include the use of the Sterilab Combi Antigen Lateral Flow Test for Flu A/Flu B/RSV and COVID-19 in Yorkshire and the Humber, which helped to inform rapid clinical intervention for infection prevention and bed management teams, and the roll-out of heart health screening programmes across the UK, which used NT-proBNP testing to reduce the waiting times for heart failure diagnosis from days to just 60 minutes.
David Wells, Chief Executive of the Institute of Biomedical Science, said: “This report highlights the urgent need to invest in IVDs and the professionals who deliver them. Biomedical scientists are central to turning diagnostic innovation into safe, effective care - improving outcomes, supporting prevention, and reducing pressure across the NHS. Prioritising both IVD technologies and the biomedical workforce is essential to achieving a more resilient, efficient, and equitable health system. “
Geoff Twist, Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland, commented: “The report’s findings are clear: despite the huge value of IVDs, they remain overlooked as vital tools to tackle many of the NHS’s pressing challenges. Embracing IVDs as tools to detect disease earlier and support targeted treatments will lead to improved health outcomes, faster recoveries, and enable more people to engage in meaningful work – strengthening the economy while reducing healthcare and welfare costs.
“The Government has outlined its vision for a healthcare system that is preventative, personalised, and community focused. Now is the time to deliver on this ambition, with stronger investment and prioritisation of IVDs to fully harness their transformative health and economic benefits for the UK.”
Click here to download the report.