Consultant Clinical Scientist Dr Fiona Riddoch has been appointed as Specialty Lead for Point of Care Testing across the Berkshire and Surrey Pathology (BSPS) network.
This critical leadership role will oversee the continues expansion of point-of-care testing (POCT), shifting more care from hospital to community and embracing technologies to improve care. Dr Riddoch, who was previously deputy and later interim lead for POCT at BSPS, was appointed to the substantive role with effect from October 2026.
It is a critical leadership position for BSPS as the service looks to POCT to help achieve some of the key objectives in the NHS 10-year strategy, shifting more care from hospital to community and embracing technologies to improve patient care.
In her role, Dr Riddoch is also director of QPoint EQA, an external quality assessment scheme run by Frimley Health NHS FT that helps to ensure accuracy and reliability of POCT devices.
Dr Riddoch trained as a clinical scientist and has worked in NHS laboratories in London and the Southeast for 20 years. Over the past six years she played a key role developing and leading POCT services across acute, community and virtual care settings, including nationally recognised verification and implementation projects. Her work has helped advance high-quality, accredited POCT services locally and nationally. She brings a wealth of expertise in POCT, quality management and service innovation.
Dr Riddoch commented: “I look forward to leading our team with compassion, collaboration and innovation, to strengthen and expand POCT services in our region to both acute and community patients, and ensuring we continue to deliver high-quality, patient-centred diagnostics.”
BSPS is a partnership of five hospital and community trusts - Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals, Frimley Health, Royal Berkshire, Royal Surrey NHS foundation trusts and Surrey & Sussex NHS Trust - delivering laboratory services to hospitals, GPs, primary and community services across the area.