IBMS informs NHS 10-year workforce plan
The IBMS has submitted evidence to the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan Call for Evidence, showing how biomedical scientists and laboratory services are helping to deliver the 10 Year Health Plan’s three shifts: more digital and data-enabled care, care closer to home through community diagnostics, and a stronger focus on prevention. The submissions respond to questions on service transformation, productivity, workforce training and culture, and draw on IBMS reports and member case studies from across the UK.
On the three shifts, the submission describes how digital pathology, artificial intelligence and networked laboratory services are already improving care by reducing turnaround times, supporting remote reporting and enabling national collaboration. Examples include the deployment of digital pathology networks, AI-supported reporting and projects such as the REVISE-HCC liver cancer pilot, which use algorithms and routine testing data to speed up diagnosis and inform treatment decisions.
The response also highlights the shift from hospital-based to community-based care through community diagnostics, point-of-care testing and outreach programmes. Case studies include the Everton BEAT-to-TREAT heart failure pathway, where community NT-proBNP testing cut waits from six weeks to one hour, and rapid respiratory testing in care homes and GP practices that has reduced admissions and supported outbreak management. Diagnostics are presented as a core enabler of prevention, from PLGF testing in pre-eclampsia to heart screening events and self-sampling models for cervical screening to improve equity of access.
Across these examples, the submission stresses that biomedical scientists are the largest regulated workforce in pathology and are responsible for over 70% of diagnostics in the NHS. It explains how IBMS Accredited education and qualifications underpin safe practice from pre-registration to consultant level, and how advanced roles such as consultant biomedical scientists in histopathology and cancer screening are already expanding capacity and reducing time from test to treatment. It also identifies major barriers, including the shortage of funded training posts: only 19% of qualified graduates currently secure IBMS registration training positions, leading to a significant loss of talent from the NHS. The IBMS Long Term Workforce Plan is highlighted as a route to increase training capacity and secure investment in the biomedical workforce.
On productivity, the response sets out how digital initiatives are freeing clinical time and easing pressure on staff. The Digital Pathology and Integrated Care Systems work with Microsoft, digitally integrated IVD platforms described in the Power of Testing report, and AI-driven community testing such as REVISE-HCC are cited as examples that reduce backlogs, support real-time decision making and allow staff to focus on patient care rather than process work.
The submission goes on to detail actions to close training gaps aligned to the three shifts. These include a proposed Registration Training Grant to expand pre-registration capacity, a suite of post-registration qualifications in molecular diagnostics, informatics, leadership and quality, and structured routes to advanced and consultant practice. It also notes the importance of biomedical scientists in designing and overseeing community and prevention-focused services, ensuring that wherever tests are performed they meet consistent standards of safety, quality and governance.
On culture and values, the response provides evidence that advanced and consultant-level biomedical scientist roles in histopathology - delivered through IBMS and RCPath joint qualifications and supported by National School for Healthcare Science funding - have helped address workforce shortages while maintaining quality and modernising services. The submission links these roles to better career progression, more sustainable workloads and improved patient access to timely histopathology reporting.
Finally, the IBMS highlights the impact of consolidating pathology services into networks. Drawing on the Pathology Networking State of the Nation analysis, the evidence notes that consolidated laboratories can deliver more than 20% lower cost per test, faster turnaround times, higher productivity and stronger quality management, alongside greater resilience and scalability. The submission argues that investment in consolidation and laboratory leadership is essential if the NHS is to realise the full benefits of the 10 Year Workforce Plan.
The Call for Evidence has given the profession an opportunity to demonstrate how diagnostics, workforce development and service design can support a sustainable NHS. The IBMS submission positions the profession as central to delivering digital transformation, community-based and preventative care, productivity gains and a positive workplace culture that allows staff to thrive.
IBMS Long Term Biomedical Scientist Workforce Plan
Digital Pathology and Integrated Care Systems
The Power of Testing.pdf