The U.K. Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has announced the formal launch in Parliament of the All-Party Parliamentary Group of Diagnostics (APPG).
The RCR and the Royal College of Pathologists are providing the joint secretariat for the Group, which will be chaired by Member of Parliament (MP) Maggie Throup. Throup has a background in medical diagnostics and has previously held a junior minister role within the Department of Health and Social Care.
In addition, several MPs and Peers were elected to support her as vice-chair, including Lord Bethell and MPs Elliot Colburn, Grahame Morris, Jim Shannon, Sir Oliver Heald, Tim Farron, and Mary Robinson, the RCR said.
"We appreciate their interest and support as there has never been a more important time to establish an APPG to discuss and provide solutions to optimizing diagnostic services and innovations such as Community Diagnostic Centres," the RCR said in a statement. "Workforce shortfalls, long waiting lists, and inefficient equipment and IT systems are all issues the diagnostic sector is facing right now."
RCR President Dr. Kath Halliday spoke during the APPG's inaugural meeting on the role played by clinical radiologists and interventional radiologists in delivering diagnostic services and the challenges the workforce faces. Next, the APPG plans to hold debates in Westminster Hall and run an inquiry on Community Diagnostic Centres, the RCR noted.
