It’s been a very busy period for the College since the last Bulletin but, before covering some of the great things the College has been involved in, I wanted to update you on the direction of travel for the College now we are hopefully out of the worst of the COVID pandemic.

‘Your College, Your Profession’

When I became President, I highlighted the importance of returning the College to focus on its core functions. During the last 18 months, I have met many of you online and, more recently, in person as I have travelled around the four nations of the UK – you have told me there is much more we could do to represent and support you and deliver value for money. As we emerge from COVID and can now focus on activities beyond just coping during the pandemic, tackling these challenges is now a priority for me and the College.

This autumn I will be leading a member engagement tour around the UK entitled ‘Your College, Your Profession’. The tour will give you the opportunity to tell us what you individually want and need from us, how we can further support the work of your service and what you think we need to do to further the development of the profession across all our specialties. We are committed to listening to you, our members.

The tour will be open to all members and is a starting point in what will be an ongoing process, aligned to our existing strategy, ensuring members are the central pillar for everything the College does. We want and will work hard to hear everyone’s view and to listen to all opinions, positive and negative, so we can build on our work to support pathology and services to patients.

I encourage you all to engage with this process regardless of background or position as we aim to truly represent all aspects and members of the College. We will be holding nine tour events covering all four nations of the UK. Please look out for further details in the coming weeks. If you would like to register your interest in attending an event, please complete this form.

Highlighting pathology issues

Over the past few months, the College has been working very hard to represent members and to lobby government and policymakers in all our four nations on issues that continue to cause problems for members in all specialties, particularly those around workforce and resources. I have had numerous meetings with Westminster Labour politicians and their teams. These included Feryal Clark MP, Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Patient Safety, who has a very good understanding of pathology, genomics and the issues affecting us as pathologists, doubtless helped by her degree in Bioinformatics. Feryal was extremely helpful and supportive and has raised issues relating to pathology in parliamentary questions.

In early June, I met Wes Streeting’s team with a view to arranging a meeting with Wes, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Dr Sarah Harrison, policy adviser to Wes, was very receptive to the issues I raised around workforce and support for all our specialties to help us deal with the increased demand for services relating to the backlog, cancer and genomics.

The ‘Parliamentary Links Day’ organised by the Royal Society of Biology in Parliament on 28 June gave me the opportunity to meet with MPs from all parties. I was pleased to meet up with my fantastic constituency MP, Ellie Reeves. Ellie has helped us highlight pathology and healthcare issues, especially around workforce and investment, and we are grateful for the support given by Ellie and her team who have also facilitated our meetings with members of the Shadow Health Team.

In addition, our England regional representatives have been meeting local policy and decision-makers and working with the new Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to ensure the voice of pathology is heard and the needs of our members recognised.

I was also able to meet Viscount Stansgate from the House of Lords. The Viscount is Vice President of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee and is involved in running the Society of Biology. He has a huge interest in championing science and healthcare and is very supportive of pathology and pathologists. We are working together to find ways we can better champion the needs of pathology and pathologists.

The chairs of our regional councils have also been very active in meeting politicians and policy-makers in their own countries. They are working to develop recovery plans and to highlight the role and importance of pathology and pathologists. In addition, our England regional representatives have been meeting local policy and decision-makers and working with the new Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to ensure the voice of pathology is heard and the needs of our members recognised.

Regional update

As always, there has been a lot going on in the devolved nations. In May, I attended the Faculty of Public Health’s 50th Anniversary Reception where all four Chief Medical Officers (CMO) from across the UK spoke, took questions and met attendees. It is very unusual to have all four CMOs together, and their insights on the pandemic and other major healthcare issues around the UK were informative, enlightening and interesting. They have informed our subsequent discussions with them and with others.

A few weeks later, I attended various Northern Ireland events. These were held online owing to the COVID restrictions in place when the events where organised, but included a breakfast meeting with Professor Sir Michael McBride, Northern Ireland CMO, in which we discussed the particular issues facing pathology services and pathologists in Northern Ireland. It was a very useful meeting and Professor Michael was very helpful and supportive. We will certainly be working together more in the future.

I also attended the regional council meeting and annual symposium where I had the opportunity to meet trainees. All these events were very useful and have informed the way I and the College can promote and support pathology in Northern Ireland. Thanks to all those involved who made me so welcome, especially Dr Gareth McKeeman, Chair of the NI Regional Council.

At the beginning of July, I was able to attend, in person for the first time, a variety of events in Wales. The discussions at the regional council meeting around not only the specific support needed by pathologists in Wales, but also the general issues facing pathology, were extremely valuable in generating ideas that will develop the work and activities of the College. This meeting was followed by a discussion with Dr Helen Cordy, who is the College’s trainee representative for Wales and provided helpful feedback that will develop our support for trainees and the way we deliver and run exams for everyone.

I was thrilled to be accompanied by the Mayor of Penarth, who was very supportive of pathology and the issues facing our members, which we discussed as we walked.

The final formal event was the annual symposium where a variety of excellent speakers discussed a range of issues mainly around or related to cancer and cancer services, genomics and associated topics. These highlighted some interesting and useful points to aid further discussion and College work not just in Wales, but in the UK and worldwide.

At the weekend after the main meetings, I was lucky enough to take part in a section of the Wales Coast Path, which pathologists and their friends and families undertook as part of our Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I was joined by colleagues and walked around Cardiff Bay and then on to Penarth Pier and back. It was a fantastic day finishing outside the Senedd. I was thrilled to be accompanied by the Mayor of Penarth, who was very supportive of pathology and the issues facing our members, which we discussed as we walked. My wife and even my dog, Scout, came along (he loved it).

Others, including Dr Jonathan Kell, Wales Regional Council Chair, made the much more arduous walk from Barry Island to Cardiff, meeting up with us for the final leg from Penarth. Elsewhere in Wales, Dr James Davies MP took part in the walk from Prestatyn to Rhyl along with a group from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, organised by Dr Anu Gunavardhan, Wales Regional Council member.

The coastal walk was a brilliant, fun event and one I was delighted to be asked to take part in. Thank you to our members and their friends and families who joined us. I would also like to thank Jonathan and everyone in Wales for making me so welcome at the meetings and on the walk and for ensuring the whole trip was so enjoyable and productive.

These events in Northern Ireland and Wales have highlighted the importance and value of meeting members from all our four nations and all regions of the UK.

There have been other events in Wales to celebrate our Diamond Jubilee. These included a lecture at the Senedd sponsored by Vaughan Gething MS, Minister for the Economy, and given by Professor Meena Upadhyaya OBE – a medical geneticist and honorary professor at Cardiff University. In her lecture, Meena discussed her life, work and the challenges she has faced. Meena is inspirational and dedicated to medicine, genetics and improving opportunities for everyone. I met Meena during my recent trip to Wales and her thoughts and comments will help us develop and progress the College’s equality, diversity and inclusion agenda with which she is involved. Thank you Meena for all your help and support in this area.

These events in Northern Ireland and Wales have highlighted the importance and value of meeting members from all our four nations and all regions of the UK. The Scotland Regional Council will be holding their council meeting and symposium later this year and I am very much looking forward to attending those events hope-fully in person but failing that online. Similarly, the ‘Your College, Your Profession’ engagement tour will give me the opportunity to meet and hear from our members from all over the UK.

National Pathology Week

This year we moved National Pathology Week (NPW) from November to 20–26 June to coincide with the College’s 60th Anniversary. The theme for NPW was ‘Pathology: past, present and future’ and it was a fantastic week with both College-led and member-led events taking place all across the UK.

I was thrilled to kick-start the week of celebrations by introducing our virtual panel discussion exploring the history of the College, key milestones for pathology, current practices, hot topics, and future advancements. The panel was fantastically chaired by past-President Dr Suzy Lishman CBE and featured experts from different pathology specialties.

Another highlight of the week was the RCPath Book Club with Professor Heidi Larson and hosted by Vice President for Learning Professor Angharad Davies. During the event, the expert panel of contributors discussed key themes and ideas explored in Heidi's book, Stuck: How Vaccine Rumours Start – and Why They Don't Go Away.

As well as being able to showcase the vital contribution of pathologists to healthcare, NPW also provides an opportunity to improve aware-ness among students and undergraduates. In this vein, we hosted two virtual pub quizzes for undergraduates studying medicine or biomed-ical science, and those interested in or studying veterinary pathology. With a range of questions gathered from members who work in different specialty areas, the quizzes gave UK-based and international students the chance to test their knowledge of disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

As a result of the popularity of the quizzes among international students, we are running a special virtual quiz aimed at international students in November.

Celebrating our Diamond Jubilee

Tuesday 21 June 2022 was officially the day of the College’s 60th Anniversary and, as you know, we had planned a fantastic selection of events for this day, including an Open Day with many members, friends and significant policy and decision-makers due to attend. Unfortunately, the Open Day had to be postponed owing to the national rail strikes and tube strikes. We were not the only ones affected by these strikes with the Faculty of Public Health postponing their 50th anniversary events the day after ours on 22 June and even the Royal Opera House cancelling its performances because staff, performers and the audience were unable to make it in. Our Open Day will now take place on Thursday 8 September and promises to be a fantastic event with many of those who planned to attend in June coming to meet pathologists and hear about pathology and pathology issues.

The lecture was fantastic and a great way to celebrate our Diamond Jubilee. Sir Jonathan discussed his take on the pandemic and the lessons learned, together with his contribution to the UK Vaccines Taskforce and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

The highlight of the Open Day has to have been the College’s Foundation Lecture given by College Fellow Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam – the well-known and highly respected Deputy CMO for England during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the lecture could not go ahead in person as planned, fortunately Sir Jonathan very kindly agreed to move the lecture online and was still able to give the lecture ‘live’ on the actual day of our Diamond Jubilee.

The lecture was fantastic and a great way to celebrate our Diamond Jubilee. Sir Jonathan discussed his take on the pandemic and the lessons learned, together with his contribution to the UK Vaccines Taskforce and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. However, beyond that, he gave advice and insight on responding to and managing rapidly developing and changing events with sometimes only limited information available, as well as how to work with the media and politicians during such fast-moving situations.

The feedback from the lecture was excellent and we had more than 200 people watching online, including some extremely eminent policy and decision-makers. The lecture is available online and I would thoroughly recommend it. I would like to thank Aiforia, the sponsor of our Named College Lecture Series, which includes our Foundation Lecture.

So looking forward, I wish you all a lovely summer and look forward to meeting and hearing from as many of you as possible during our ‘Your College, Your Profession’ tour in the autumn.