British Health Service Budget Cuts Mean Less Funding for Pathology Laboratories
Pathologists and Medical Laboratory Leaders to Gather For 9th Annual FiLM Conference
Many pathologists and clinical laboratory managers outside of the United Kingdom (U.K.) remain unaware of its government budget-cutting initiatives that call for all sectors of government services to spend as much as 20% less money during the coming budget cycle. The nation’s oft-admired National Health Service (NHS) will also undergo unprecedented reforms even as it sees severe budget cuts.
Critics of the announced budget cutbacks—put forth by the newly-elected coalition government that took office last spring—predict that reduced spending on healthcare will affect everything from hospital staffing to clinical laboratory testing to the available number of students in medical schools. These critics believe patient wait times will greatly increase, and access to some medical services may be severely restricted. (more…)
