Further to recent press coverage on this issue, the articles below appeared yesterday on the BBC News website.
A severe lack of hospital laboratory staff is leaving serious illnesses undiagnosed, it has been claimed.
The Royal College of Pathologists says the shortage is putting patients' lives at risk.
It points to surveys which indicate the industry is short of 1,000 staff across all grades.
Some hospitals, particularly in North-West England are being forced to merge services. In other areas, just one or two technicians are often left carrying out five people's work.
Pathology is also very often left off doctor's training, resulting in a fewer students coming through the system, the royal college said.
Staff shortages are compounded by the fact that some laboratory scientists start on just £11,000 per year.
Sir John Lilleyman, President of the Royal College, said the Department of Health appeared to be too complacent about the situation. He told the BBC: "There is a huge threat, like a train coming down the track straight at them with its horn blaring, and they are not noticing it. If we don't do something, with the increasing demand on pathology services it is just going to collapse, there is no way it can continue."
Sir John said NHS trust managers had failed to give proper priority to pathology units.
"Pathology services in most trusts, and particularly the smaller trusts, are way outside the central strategic vision of the trust management, they don't directly earn much money for the trusts.
"They are seen by a lot of management boards as overheads - what they are is an essential clinical service without which the trust would fall over."
Roger Lyons, General Secretary of the Amicus-MSF Union which represents many laboratory technicians, said 60% of all hospital treatment required input from pathology labs.
"Many labs are under-staffed, the lives of patients are at risk, diagnosis is delayed, and, in particular, the government's national cancer plan just cannot be implemented.
We don't understand why the NHS will not give proper recognition to the scientific staff who are the key building block in NHS delivery."
Sarah Harman is a solicitor who has dealt with 200 women over the last five years whose cervical cancer smears were not properly analysed. She said: "Our laboratories are not functioning as well as they could. These are avoidable cases where a woman should not have developed cancer."
A Department of Health spokesman said a strategy for the modernisation of pathology services was being prepared.
"We recognise that for too long NHS pathology has been seen as a back-room service and not as the key clinical support service it really is. That is why we are committed to improving pathology by expanding the workforce and getting extra investment into pathology services in the NHS."
But Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman, said government policy had forced NHS managers to focus on certain areas such as elective surgery, to the neglect of others such as pathology. He said many pathology specialists were choosing to work in the private sector, rather than the NHS because the money offered by the health service was far too low. He added that the negative publicity surrounding errors had also put people off a career in the pathology services.
Dave Houliston [Chair of the Amicus MSF National Advisory Committee on Health] is a Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. He has worked in NHS laboratories for almost 30 years. He has seen big changes in that time, not least in terms of staff morale. "Morale is entirely different now," he says. "People are not prepared to do extra work. Some people are but others just do what is required."
In recent weeks, he has lost three members of staff. One retired early, one moved to another part of the country and another left for a better job and better pay after they had been trained at Bournemouth.
Mr Houliston is not sure whether he will be able to fill the vacant posts. Starting salaries for trainee technicians are just over £11,000.
"In the past, we have had occasions when we have had no applicants for jobs. Sometimes we get two or three."
Bournemouth is by no means the worst affected area. There are serious problems recruiting staff in London and the South East where the high cost of living deters many from taking up laboratory posts.
"We are unable to pay staff extra to cover their cost of living expenses. It is difficult.
We need a fairer pay bargaining system. We need to make people feel appreciated and the main way of doing that is by increasing pay."
The Government is currently in negotiations with unions to overhaul the way many NHS staff, including laboratory technicians, are paid. The so-called Agenda for Change talks are due to be completed shortly. Mr Houliston is hoping these negotiations will bring improvements for him and his colleagues.
"We need fairer recompense. If there isn't then people my age will consider leaving and taking early retirement. I am 55 and there a lot of people in a similar position to me who are considering taking early retirement."
Dave Houliston is confident that if low pay levels are addressed then recruitment problems will be a thing of the past. "It is an interesting job," he says. "But if the Agenda for Change talks do not bring improvements then it is going to be more difficult for everybody."
In addition their have been numerous interviews with local reps and officers in the regions, congratulations and thanks to all colleagues who have been involved in these.