Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of pathology networks on (a) patient care and (b) NHS England’s finances.

By 2021, all pathology services across England will be part of a pathology network. Pathology networks will mean quicker test turnaround times, improved access to more complex tests at a lower overall cost and better career opportunities for healthcare scientists and clinicians. This will improve the quality of the service offered to patients and benefit patient care. NHS Improvement estimates have suggested a single network is predicting to make savings of £26 million during the next five years, while others forecasting their average cost per test drop by a fifth, and overall the National Health Service hopes to save £200 million through the project by 2021.