National Pathology Programme

Introduction

The National Pathology Programme is a strategic body in Wales sitting within NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, which is in turn hosted by Public Health Wales. Our remit is to work with health boards and trusts across Wales to support the development of high quality, effective and sustainable pathology services.

Our priority areas for improvement were originally identified in the Pathology Statement of Intent (2019) and our current work is aligned with the Diagnostic Recovery Transformation Plan for Wales (2023 - 2025), which we manage as different workstreams.

So what is Pathology?

Pathology is the study of disease. It covers a vast field that bridges science and medicine and underpins every aspect of patient care, from diagnostic testing and treatment advice, to the use of cutting-edge technologies and the prevention of disease.

The work of the pathology service is performed by a varied workforce consisting of pathologists, clinical scientists, biomedical scientists, healthcare support workers and administrative staff, who work with healthcare professionals in hospitals and GP surgeries to diagnose, treat and prevent illness.

Interested in working in Pathology?

As you navigate through our webpages you will find links to the Institute of Biomedical Scientists (IBMS), Royal College of Pathology (RCPath) and Health Education and Improvement Wales Life Sciences, including their Healthcare Science Cymru websites, which have many useful resources to help you learn more about Pathology and what working as a biomedical scientist in a hospital is like.

You can read about ‘a day in the life’ of a range of people working in Pathology, including a consultant pathologist, an apprentice biomedical support worker, a newly registered biomedical scientist and a medical microbiologist, as well as videos about careers in Pathology.

You can also watch videos that walk you around some of the labs in the Welsh hospitals and show you the journey that a blood sample takes.

After this, if you think a career in Pathology could be for you, just click on the careers pathway information to find out about the options available.