Featuring Epredia on the front cover, the August issue of Pathology in Practice is now available to read online.
The August issue of PiP has now been published and is available to read online.
From the Editor: A long time in politics…
They say a week is a long time in politics, and so it goes that the two months since I last wrote have seen a fair amount of change. The Burnham government is still in its early stages, with first announcements focused on the cost of living. But by appointing the experienced Yvette Cooper as the new Secretary of State for Health (an office Burnham himself occupied for the last year of the previous Labour administration under Gordon Brown) the new prime minister has signalled the importance of the brief, with serious reform of social care expected.
What could this mean for the NHS and the 10 Year Plan though? So much change is already in motion, not least the new Health Bill currently before Parliament, set to formally abolish NHS England. Significant rollback here seems unlikely with so much already done and Burnham previously quoted as saying the money spent in the health service demands accountability. With devolution firmly on the agenda, it’s possible that more spending decisions will be made on a local basis, perhaps with locally elected mayors having a greater influence on policy.
Looking with a wider lens, under Burnham’s mayorship, Greater Manchester became a leading light in efforts to improve population health at scale. If this ambition is replicated nationally, it mirrors one of the ‘three shifts’, a focus on prevention. The extent to which this is pushed as a national policy could have significant consequences for the NHS, and how its funds are directed. Interesting times are ahead…
I was also privileged recently to visit St George’s Hospital in Tooting, to see how service provider South West London Pathology is using drones to improve the transportation of blood samples. The trial is currently connecting a neighbourhood health centre with the blood service laboratory at St George’s. While the service won’t be replacing regular couriers, it provides a much speedier delivery for urgent samples. SWLP plans to expand the trial to cover additional sites and feels the business case for adding drones to its transportation options is very strong. You can read more in these News pages, and we’ll be able to bring you further updates from SWLP in a future issue.
For now though, we have another packed issue to bring you, including scientific articles looking at how recent technological advances are improving surveillance and treatment of pneumococcal disease; the biological complexity of the glioma tumour microenvironment; and the often-overlooked respiratory pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Stephen MacDonald also continues his series on statistics, looking at precision studies and their practical use, terms used, study design, and interpretation.
Andy Myall