Meet the team

I am Alan Deacon, the National Pathology Programme Lead working as part of the NHS Wales Executive. I have a background as a Biomedical Scientist in Cellular Pathology, am a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and have been a Chartered Scientist with The Science Council since 2004. I am currently a National Council Member of the IBMS as well as a member of several industry National and European Pathology Advisory Boards. 

My career spans over 35 years, during which I have worked in both public and private healthcare sectors, always with a focus on improving Pathology services. I have a keen interest in workforce development and advanced clinical practice and was Chair of the West Midlands Pathology Workforce Planning Committee for several years. In 2012 I played a pivotal role in creating and delivering the Cellular Pathology module for Aston University's Biomedical Science degree. In recent years, I have held several senior leadership roles in the NHS in England, where I have been involved in service redesign and organisational collaboration as well as introduction of novel technologies and working practices. 

Whilst this is my first role working for the NHS in Wales, I have strong links to the country including completing my first degree here at Cardiff University and periods of living both in South Wales and on Anglesey. Since coming to work in Wales in 2022, my efforts have been focussed on applying systemic leadership to effect positive change both within Pathology services and also the across the wider health system. 

When not living and breathing all things Pathology(!), I am a keen (and sometimes competitive) runner with a history of racing ultramarathons. I also collect records extensively, much to my wife’s frustration, and am a keen student of the Italian language which represents a renaissance in language learning following a dark age stretching back to O levels and the mid 1980’s!

I am Adam, consultant in cellular pathology at UHW, Cardiff. I have been a consultant for 13 years, having previously trained in pathology in South Wales after moving here from Nottingham, where I went to medical school. I am originally from Kent, where I still have family and visit often.

I report mostly gastrointestinal pathology specimens as well as some head and neck specimens. I have been laboratory director for Cellular Pathology for five years, and since have been the Clinical Board Director for Clinical Diagnostics and Therapies in Cardiff and Vale. I attend a number of local, regional and tertiary cancer MDTs, and through the laboratory director role I have been involved in a number of regional and local programmes of work, including digital pathology and the WLIMS Programme. 

Since January 2023 I have been the Clinical Lead to the National Pathology Programme. This has been a challenging time as it feels like pathology services are under the most pressure they have ever faced.

I am hoping to evolve some of the ongoing great work that the National Pathology Programme is currently supporting. A real focus is going to have to be on a sustainable workforce, so working with HEIW to support our scientific staff in career progression is something I am keen to engage with in the very near future. There is a real opportunity to drive improvement, certainly in cellular pathology, but in all disciplines by rolling out innovative and new technology, not least a digital pathology platform that will help get the right result to the patient in a timely manner. My key driver is for pathology to no longer be a service confined to the background of clinical pathways but to move it towards the front and be seen as a key implementer in patient care.

I am very keen to hear of the issues, and ideally solutions, to any issues you may be having across pathology disciplines, and how the programme can support you, so please get in touch.

I’m Tahir, I have over 15 years’ experience in diagnostic pathology, both in the public and private sector.  

I joined ABUHB as a Biomedical Scientist in 2006 and progressed to a Biochemistry senior, acquiring a position as a training officer and then as an automation lead. I then went on to manage the All Wales IP5 Covid Laboratory in Newport and then to work for Siemens as a Product Health Manager. 

My key interests include teaching, service improvement and innovation, and I believe passionately in diagnostics being a facilitator for clinical decision making. 

I am currently focussing on the Programme’s Workforce and Education workstream, in particular on the potential introduction of Pathology Practice Education Facilitators within the health boards/trusts, and on the standardisation of job descriptions in Pathology.

I joined the NHS in 2010 and have extensive experience in healthcare administration. My career began with Cervical Screening Wales, where I supported a variety of projects and organised training events.

I then transitioned to ABUHB, working with the Palliative Care Team, where I further developed my skills in providing PA support and coordinating multidisciplinary team meetings. 

Having previously been the Senior Project Support Officer for the Programme, I am now the Programme Support Manager where I support projects, manage our administrative team, monitor our budget, conduct data analysis exercises to help drive continuous improvements.

I am a Senior Project Manager and joined the National Pathology Programme in February 2020.  I am currently working on the digital workstream which includes the National Digital Cellular Pathology Project and various AI/computational pathology projects. 
 
I have worked within NHS Wales for over 24 years on various local and national projects and programmes, including, most recently, eight years working as part of the Lymphoedema Network Wales team.

I am a Senior Project Support Officer and joined the National Pathology Programme in November 2024. I support multiple workstreams within the Programme and specialise in the digital workstream. 

I have worked within the NHS in for 14 years, beginning as a Clerical Officer within my local A&E department whilst studying. Following this I joined the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service. During my time with EMRTS I supported the Adult Critical Care Transfer Service Cymru from project stage though to launch and continued to support its development. 

Music and music production are my passions outside of work. I play the saxophone and enjoy performing in my spare time. I previously created my own music studio where I’d write and produce different genres of music,  and also produce for artists within South Wales.