Website of the Department of Health

Independent Review of NHS Pathology Services

The Independent Review was set up in autumn 2005, and its interim report was published in August 2006. The Review has now submitted its final report to Ministers. Ministers will consider the Review's recommendations, and DH will publish an impact assessment for consultation in due course.

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

NHS Connecting for Health: electronic order communications in primary care

DH is working with NHS Connecting for Health on a project to develop electronic ordering of pathology tests, and reporting of test results, in primary care. This will be the first such system to use the Spine Messaging Service and the new pathology messaging standards.

• Electronic Order Communications in Primary Care

The National Pathology Service Improvement Programme

DH has commissioned the National Pathology Service Improvement Team to work with NHS pathology services to implement service improvement techniques and Lean principles.

• The National Pathology Service Improvement Programme

The Pathology Action Learning Programme

Action learning is learning from taking action for change on challenging issues. It has proved a successful technique for addressing problems with no obvious solution. In its second phase, the Pathology Action Learning Programme has supported around thirty action learning sets around the country, to tackle issues identified as priorities locally.

• The Pathology Action Learning Programme

The National Pathology Benchmarking Service

DH is supporting the development of the National Pathology Benchmarking Service for primary care. Benchmarking is an important tool to support demand management for pathology services, and an increased focus on appropriate testing for individual patients.

• The National Pathology Benchmarking Service

Workforce modernisation

Workforce re-profiling pilots have been undertaken in three pathology services, as part of a wider DH programme of workforce modernisation.

The report of those pilots is now available

• Workforce modernisation

Accreditation

DH is working with Clinical Pathology Accreditation (UK) Ltd (CPA) and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) on modernisation of pathology accreditation. A particular focus in 2007/2008 is on accreditation and point of care testing.

Good practice guidance for NHS mortuaries

In August 2006, DH published Care and Respect in Death: Good Practice Guidance for NHS Mortuary Staff. Mortuary staff have an important and challenging role, providing an efficient, safe, secure service while ensuring care and respect in death and treating bereaved families sensitively. This document sets out key principles of good practice for staff in NHS mortuaries and provides advice on how those principles can be put into practice.

• Care and respect in death: Good practice guidance for NHS mortuary staff

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR)

The National Service Framework for Renal Services recommends that kidney function should be assessed and monitored using an eGFR, rather than serum creatinine alone, in people identified as having an increased risk of chronic kidney disease.

Links are given below to the information sheets on eGFR (including information on how to order printed copies), produced for for laboratories and general practitioners, and a leaflet of frequently asked questions.

• Estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR): Information for laboratories
• Estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR): Information for General Practitioners
• Estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR): Frequently Asked Questions
• Detecting chronic kidney disease in England: Introducing eGFR for kidney function testing from 1 April 2006

Publications

Some other documents published during the course of the Pathology Modernisation programme:

• Modernising pathology: Building a service responsive to patients (2005)
• Modernising pathology services (2004)
• Career opportunites in Histopathology - 2004 edition
• Pathology: The essential service (2002)
• Response to 'Pathology - the essential service '
• Download Newsletter 3 (November 2005) (PDF, 80K)
• Download Newsletter 2 (July 2005) (PDF, 215K)
• Download Newsletter 1 (November 2004) (PDF, 154K)

Links

Useful links.

• Links

Contact us

• Email: pathology.modernisation@dh.gsi.gov.uk (opens new window)