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Well done to Leonie Wheeldon, who was awarded The Institute of Biomedical Scientists (IBMS) Biomedical Scientist of the Year award in April at the Park Plaza Victoria in London.

Leonie is a Consultant Biomedical Scientist at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and has dedicated herself to the training of healthcare professionals in various specialties, enhancing skills locally and nationally, particularly in Rapid On-site Evaluation (ROSE).

Leonie is also one of the few to attain the IBMS Advanced Specialist Diploma in Diagnostic Cytopathology.

Read more.

Read Biomedical Scientist of the Year…

There was a brilliant atmosphere at South West Imaging Training Academy (SWITA) in Plymouth on Saturday 6 July, as we welcomed over 130 young people and their families to inspire and introduce them to the many and varied career opportunities in diagnostics.

Over two sessions in the morning and afternoon, there were talks and a lively exhibition featuring many of the diagnostic careers on offer, such as radiography, sonography, echocardiography, pathology and clinical sciences.

A group of actors from City College in Plymouth brought to life the 'behind-the-scenes' life-saving nature of these roles.

Attendees were able to explore a virtual X-ray room and CT scanner using virtual reality headsets, brought along by The Society and College of Radiographers, and we were delighted to also be joined by representatives from University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, University of Exeter, and University of Plymouth.

Following the success of this event, we hope to be able to offer similar opportunities in other sites around the peninsula in future.

Read Event showcases diagnostic careers for young people…

The environmental sustainability agenda is an important focus for the network, as pathology creates a lot of single-use plastics and uses lots of energy, so there is plenty of scope for reducing storage requirements and improving efficiency.

The network has established a Pathology Sustainability Group , with good attendance from labs and trust leads. It has already started a stocktake of environmental actions happening around the peninsula which is identifying ideas that can be spread elsewhere. Here are a few examples:

• We are contacting suppliers about packaging, looking at potential ways to reduce or recycle plastic waste. At Royal Cornwall NHS Hospitals Trust (RCHT), they receive almost 780,000 specimen bags each year from GP surgeries at their Blood Sciences Laboratories. They've implemented the Indexor plastic reduction solution, which is not only drastically cutting the amount of plastic required, but also streamlining the processing of samples. All surgeries now use Indexor and it is being tested in Plymouth.

• Also in Cornwall, the Open Skies project has been exploring the use of unmanned aerial vehicles - such as drones - in the transport of pathology and pharmacy samples / blood products, drugs, equipment and consumables. This ground-breaking approach could help serve rural and isolated communities, including the Isles of Scilly, and reduce carbon emissions. Read more in this blog for the Royal College of Pathologists by RCHT Pathology Service Manager Lisa Vipond, and Optimisation Project Lead Jo Walsh.

• Nationally, the use of My Green Lab has led to improvements. This not-for-profit organisation provides programmes and accreditation standards, led by scientists, for anyone working in laboratory environments to help reduce waste. They are also one of the partners promoting the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge, bringing labs from 195 countries together to promote the most energy efficient cold storage options.

Read CASE STUDY: Environmental sustainability…