Only 3% of histopathology departments that responded to the Royal College of Pathologists’ workforce census reported enough staff to meet clinical demand

There is a chronic shortage of histopathologists in the United Kingdom (UK) and it is being blamed for cancer treatment waiting times that now reach the worst-ever levels, as National Health Service (NHS) training initiatives and other steps fail to keep pace with growing demand for diagnostic services.

For US anatomic pathologists and clinical laboratory managers, headlines from the UK reveal the impact a shortage of trained histopathologists (UK’s version of anatomic pathologists) and support technical staff can have on patient care when longer wait times for pathology support and diagnosis become the norm.

Royal College of Pathologists Report

The extent of the UK-wide histopathology staff shortages was highlighted in a recently released 2017 workforce census by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath). Of the 103 histopathology departments that responded to a survey, only 3% said they had enough staff to meet the current clinical demand! And 45% of departments had to outsource work, while half of the departments were forced to use more expensive temporary workers.

“The cost of staff shortages across histopathology departments is high for both patients and for our health services,” Jo Martin, PhD, President of the Royal College of Pathologists, noted in a statement announcing the survey results. “For patients, it means worrying delays in diagnosis and treatment. For NHS hospitals, it means spending more resources on [temporary] doctors to fill staffing gaps, or outsourcing services. We estimate this cost [to be] £27 million ($35.2 million) each year across the UK health service—money that could be better invested in staff and new diagnostic equipment.”

Royal College of Pathologists President Jo Martin, PhD, is calling on the National Health Service to take additional steps to increase the number of pathologists working in the United Kingdom, including more funded training places. That’s following the release of a Royal College of Pathologists workforce survey, which reported only 3% of histopathology departments in the UK have enough staff to meet clinical demand. (Photo copyright: Twitter.)

According to iNews, NHS England recorded its worst cancer treatment waiting times on record in July 2018, with more than 3,000 people waiting longer than two months for cancer treatment to begin. NHS’ target is for 85% of patients to begin cancer treatment within 62 days of being referred by their general practitioner.

Anatomic pathologists in the United States should consider how the UK’s average delay in starting cancer treatment affects patients in that country. It is a metric that patients in the US would not tolerate. However, in the UK’s single payer system, the government’s National Health Service sets the budgets for training new physicians, including histopathologists. For many years, the pathology profession in the UK has regularly advocated for increasing the number of histopathologists trained each year by the medical schools in that country.

In July, the number of patients waiting for treatment longer than 60 days fell to 78.2%, the 31st month in a row the target was breached, iNews reported.

“We know that histopathology consultant shortages contribute to at least part of that problem,” Martin told iNews.

The RCPath report highlights the intense pressures on histopathologists—most of whom working in understaffed laboratories—face from increased workloads, as new NHS cancer screening initiatives, an aging population, and a shift toward precision medicine result in a rising number of cases being referred to labs.

“Demand for pathology services has grown significantly in recent years and continues to grow,” Martin noted in the RCPath statement. “The pathology workforce has not increased in line with this demand. If this trend continues unchecked, clinical services could be in jeopardy. Making sure pathology services can cope with current and future demand is essential if we are to ensure early diagnosis and improve outcomes for patients.”

Lack/Loss of Trained Histopathologists an Ongoing Problem

This is not the first time the alarm has been sounded in the UK over the lack of investment in trained pathologists along with a growing shortage of trained professional staff. In 2017, Dark Daily reported on calls by pathologists and other physicians for the UK government to increase funding for trained medical laboratory professionals to avert a predicted critical shortage in laboratory staffing within the next decade. (See “Pathologists and Physicians in United Kingdom Comment on How Shortage of Medical Laboratory Professionals Could Soon Delay Essential Diagnostic, Therapeutic Testing,” February 6, 2017.)

In its most recent workforce report, The Royal College of Pathologists is reiterating its call for:

• Increased funding for training;
• Better information technology (IT) for day-to-day work;
• Capital investment to implement digital pathology more widely; and,
• Development of advanced clinical practitioner apprenticeships to help more biomedical scientists become independent practitioners who would work alongside medically-qualified histopathologists.

Long-term, the organization is calling for additional training slots for pathologists in universities as well as other changes to draw more scientists into the field.

Aging Pathology Staff Means Shortages in US a Possibility

The NHS has stopped short of declaring the pathologist shortage a crisis. Instead, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson in an interview with the BBC highlighted recent initiatives taken in response to the shortage. “There are hundreds more pathologists in the NHS compared to 2010 and hospitals have reduced spending on temporary agency staff by over half a billion pounds in the last year,” the spokesperson noted. “We are listening to staff, encouraging more flexible working, and have increased medical training places for home-grown doctors by 25%, to ensure the NHS has the workforce it needs for the future.”

Despite those steps, the NHS may have more work to do. According to the Royal College of Pathologists workplace survey, a quarter of all histopathologists in the UK are 55 or older, adding an approaching retirement crisis to the existing shortage.

US anatomic pathology groups and clinical laboratories should monitor these events with a keen eye. The American pathology industry is challenged by many of the same trends, such as an aging workforce and lackluster replacement initiatives. Time will tell if the US learns from the UK’s experience.

—Andrea Downing Peck

Related Information:

College Report Finds Severe Staff Shortages Across Services Vital to Cancer Diagnosis

Pathologist Shortage ‘Delaying Cancer Diagnosis’

Cancer Treatment Waiting Times Worsening Amid Shortage of Pathology Staff

Histopathology Staff Shortages ‘Affecting Cancer Diagnoses’

Cancer Waiting Times at Their Worst Ever Level

Meeting Pathology Demand

Pathology Staff Shortages Causing Delays to Cancer Diagnosis, Says Report

Pathologists and Physicians in United Kingdom Comment on How Shortage of Medical Laboratory Professionals Could Soon Delay Essential Diagnostic, Therapeutic Testing