Joint statement on quality assurance issued

The Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) and the Association for Laboratory Medicine (LabMed) have jointly issued a statement confirming a temporary pause in the activities of the Quality Assurance in Pathology Committee (QAPC) and the National Quality Assurance Advisory Panels (NQAAPs) from January 2026.

The QAPC and NQAAPs, hosted and managed by RCPath, have played an important role in maintaining high standards by reviewing referrals from External Quality Assessment (EQA) schemes and addressing technical concerns about assay and analyser performance.

The joint statement explains that the decision to pause activities will allow time to agree a sustainable model for governance, funding and coordination. The current framework relies on volunteer expertise and RCPath resources, and lacks formal links with national oversight bodies such as the Care Quality Commission, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Department of Health and Social Care.

A stakeholder meeting later this year will bring together professional bodies, regulators, service providers and government representatives to identify a collective solution.

IBMS President Joanna Andrew said:

The IBMS supports this joint statement. A sustainable and nationally coordinated quality assurance framework is essential for patient safety and public confidence in pathology. We will continue working with RCPath, LabMed and partners across the system to help achieve that outcome.

You can read the full joint statement here.