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The Independent Review of NHS Pathology Services, chaired by Lord Carter of Coles

Lord Carter, chair of the Independent Review of NHS Pathology Services, delivered his final report to Ministers in May.  This will be published later in the autumn, together with an initial response to the Review’s recommendations.  An impact assessment will be published for consultation next year.  

The Independent Review was set up in September 2005, and its first report was published in August 2006.  It sets out the Review Panel’s findings and conclusions, and makes wide ranging recommendations for the development and improvement of pathology services.  DH accepted the Review Panel’s proposal that their findings should be tested and refined through a nationwide programme of twelve demonstration sites, in partnership with the NHS.  This second phase of the Review’s work focussed on the collection, analysis and modelling of robust, comparable cost and activity data, to provide an evidence base for the Review’s final report and recommendations.

• Report of the review of NHS pathology services in England