NEWS New year, new look…


Welcome to our first issue of 2026 – by now you’ve probably already noticed we’ve had a bit of a new year spruce up around here. Credit to our designer Laurence Hallam for Pathology in Practice’s new look, which I hope you’ll agree is a bright and refreshing update to a successful formula. Hopefully you’ll also be pleased to hear that PiP plans on continuing to bring you a broad selection of articles looking at advances in laboratory medicine and associated areas and products, just as it always has. Evolution, not revolution; as they say! Looking back 12 months, at the start of


2025, we were anticipating the 10 Year Plan in the spring. It eventually arrived in the summer, by which time the news about NHS England – which we weren’t expecting – had been announced. The lengthy process of amalgamating NHSE into the Department of Health & Social Care is still ongoing and seems likely to take most of this year. The next step is to be the publication of the Government’s NHS 10- Year Workforce Plan for England, slated to


Perhaps 2026 will be the year that new


advancements are able to make a significant difference to the lives of patients more quickly?


be in ‘early 2026’. With workforce pressures in laboratories – as well as the NHS as a whole of course – not likely to be solved quickly or easily, it will be interesting to see how much of a presence the biomedical science cohort has in this document. First up in this issue is a preview of the annual BSMT Microbiology Conference, which this year focuses on microbiology practice. Taking place at the regular north London venue of Hendon’s RAF Museum on


From the Editor


Thursday 21 May, it is dedicated this year to the memory of Jim Lindsay, a founder member and long-serving secretary and commitee member of the BSMT. Jim sadly passed away after a short illness, not long after helping the BSMT celebrate its 40th anniversary conference last year. He will be much missed this year. Also featuring in this issue are a variety of new technologies currently being put to use for the benefit of patients. These include near-patient CPE testing for stroke patients, using molecular testing to improve HER2 classification, home testing for IBD monitoring, and finally a digital solution for urinalysis. With plans developing to make it


easier to adopt new technologies – both from clinical and business angles – perhaps 2026 will be the year that new advancements are able to make a significant difference to the lives of patients more quickly? Here’s hoping.


Andy Myall andymyall@pathologyinpractice.com Pilot to improve vaccination access


A new £2 million pilot scheme will see health visitors reach families facing barriers to vaccines, to ensure more children are protected. Health visiting teams will offer vaccinations to children, providing a vital safety net for families who might otherwise miss out. The pilot aims to close gaps in healthcare inequalities. The new Department of Health and


Social Care scheme targets families who’ve fallen through the cracks – including those not signed up with a GP, struggling with travel costs, childcare juggling, language barriers or other tough circumstances that stop them geting to the doctor. By offering vaccinations during routine health visits, the pilot removes these obstacles and ensures more children can access life-saving protection. Health visitors are specialist public


health nurses who support families with children under five years. They provide advice on healthy child development, feeding and family health through regular home visits and clinic appointments. The 12 pilot schemes will roll out from


mid-January across five regions of England – London, the Midlands, North East and Yorkshire, North West and South West – designed to boost uptake and protect children from preventable diseases.


While the scheme isn’t designed to


replace a GP – families should continue to get vaccinated at their local surgery first – it supports families with children who’d otherwise slip through the net. The year-long trial will be evaluated


before rolling it out across the country from 2027.


From January 2026, children will receive the new MMRV vaccine, protecting against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chickenpox) in one vaccine. This replaces the current measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and offers protection against chickenpox for the first time, while making vaccination simpler for families.


Damehood for Dr Suzy Lishman


Consultant histopathologist and medical examiner Suzy Lishman has been made a Dame in the King’s New Year’s Honours, for her work on the implementation of the national medical examiner service. Dr Suzy Lishman CBE, who


works at Peterborough City Hospital alongside holding national roles, has worked on the implementation of medical examiners for over a decade as well as training over 2,000 medical examiners from all specialties. Dr Lishman, who was awarded a CBE


for services to pathology in 2018, has just completed a three-year term as President of the Association of Clinical Pathologists


and is the current Chair of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) - a role she took up last year after working closely with the organisation for the past 20 years. She is the first pathologist to hold the position of Chair of


NCEPOD in its 35-year history. A past president of The Royal College


of Pathologists, Dr Lishman also chairs the Ethics and Welfare Commitee of the Royal Veterinary College and the Scientific Advisory Board of Bowel Cancer UK. She is also a trustee of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, which combines her interests in medical history, art and public engagement.


February 2026 WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM 9


North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust


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