13th June - NHS Future Forum

Medical laboratory diagnostic services are already at the forefront of competition and commercial involvement in the NHS. The Royal College of Pathologists welcomes the NHS Future Forum report, but we remain concerned to see how its important safeguards will be implemented.

College President Professor Peter Furness said: “Market forces only work if the buyer can measure the quality of the product. GP leaders have confirmed our view that GPs cannot be expected to assess the quality of diagnostic services beyond their speed and price, so we welcome the requirement for multi-professional commissioning.”

“But we wait to see how this will be implemented. There must be appropriate multi-professional input that has ‘clout’. We fear that commercial companies will offer only commoner diagnostic tests, thus destabilising the NHS provision of tests for rare disorders and limiting the availability of specialist advice. It’s good to hear that ‘cherry-picking’ will be prohibited. But how? Will it work?”