TRAINING
Building diagnostic capability through people: workforce strengthening
Chantell Hodgson and Lorren Mitchell explain how training and development provided by UK NEQAS Cellular Pathology Technique works to strengthen the cellular pathology workforce.
Diagnostic services sit at the heart of modern healthcare, underpinning most clinical decisions – informing up to 70% of decisions and 85% of clinical pathways, from diagnosis through to treatment. While advances in technology continue to transform laboratory medicine, the fundamental truth remains unchanged: diagnostics are delivered by people, and the quality of diagnostics is intrinsically linked to the capability of the workforce.
The knowledge, skill, and professional judgement of biomedical scientists and technical staff are central to ensuring that diagnostic processes are accurate, reliable, and clinically meaningful. However, as pressures on services increase – through rising demand, workforce shortages, and the rapid evolution of diagnostic techniques – there is a clear need to strengthen workforce capability in a structured and sustainable way.
UK NEQAS Cellular Pathology
Technique (UK NEQAS CPT) is uniquely positioned to support this need – strengthening diagnostic capability. It combines its long-established role in external quality assessment (EQA) with an expanding practice focused Educational Ecosystem designed to support workforce development, professional progression, and long-term sustainability across the workforce at every stage of their career.
From QA to workforce capability UK NEQAS CPT is part of the UK National External Quality Assessment Service, an internationally recognised framework that supports laboratories in maintaining and improving quality standards. Within the field of cellular pathology, UK NEQAS CPT has established a strong reputation for providing robust EQA schemes that benchmark performance and drive continuous improvement. UK NEQAS CPT works in close partnership with laboratories, healthcare organisations, and professionals to promote excellence in diagnostic practice. Quality assessment alone is no longer
From offering Quality Assessment schemes, UK NEQAS CPT has evolved its role to address a broader challenge: supporting the people behind diagnostic delivery.
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WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM May 2026
enough to meet the evolving challenges facing pathology services. In response, UK NEQAS CPT has evolved its role to address a broader challenge: supporting the people behind diagnostic delivery. UK NEQAS CPT has developed a robust
educational portfolio that complements its quality assessment activities. By integrating education with EQA, it provides a more holistic approach by
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