The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) recently welcomed 100 stakeholders from across diagnostics and pharmaceutical industries, government, trade associations and its membership for a one-day Industry Leaders’ Forum to support delivery of its corporate engagement strategy.
The event programme combined speaker-led talks, audience Q&A, and breakout group discussions and offered a unique opportunity for representatives from the corporate sector to share insights and exchange knowledge with RCPath Fellows, other professional bodies and government.
After RCPath President Dr Bernie Croal welcomed delegates and shared an update on the College’s corporate engagement work since the inaugural Industry Leaders' Forum held in 2024, the event opened with a recorded address from Dr Zubir Ahmed MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.
The day’s keynote address was delivered by Dr Rhydian Phillips, Director of Diagnostics and Transport at NHS England, who presented a talk entitled ‘Transforming Pathology: Delivering for Patients, Enabling the NHS’ in which he shared NHS England’s delivery approach to transforming diagnostics. Dr Phillips spoke of five priority areas for NHS pathology between 2026 and 2030: delivering performance improvement, improving patient access for different care models, supporting system resilience, supporting digital innovation, and improving pathology network effectiveness.
Further speakers included Helen Dent, CEO of BIVDA, who spoke about the Life Sciences Sector Plan; Ravi Chana, Executive Director, Diagnostics, at ABHI, presented a summary of the NHS Cancer Plan; and Dr Andy Clarke, who shared some research he had conducted across Yorkshire NHS Trusts on productivity in histopathology.
The Forum also featured group discussions which explored how industry and the profession could align and work together. Facilitated by both RCPath Fellows and external stakeholders, the sessions aimed to give representatives from different sectors the opportunity to put forward their views on the various topic areas and to identify areas of alignment between industry and the profession that the College can take forward/support.
Pictured above are (left-right): RCPath President, Dr Bernie Croal; Dr Rhydian Phillips, NHS England; Professor Sarah Coupland, RCPath Registrar and President-elect; and Professor Peter Johnston, RCPath Vice President.
The College team will now use notes from each of the breakout discussions held at this event to produce a report and to identify key actions it can take forward in partnership with industry and other stakeholders. The College says it aims to use the 2026 Forum event as a springboard to expand and build on its corporate engagement programme of activities, including educational and advocacy initiatives, and to foster new partnerships and collaborations that support improvements to patient care.