National Pathology Week celebrates the vital contribution pathology professionals make to patient care, diagnosis, treatment and healthcare innovation. This year’s theme, “Welcome to the Lab”, provides an opportunity to showcase the people, expertise and career pathways that make laboratory medicine such a rewarding and impactful profession.
To mark the week, Weqas is highlighting several aspects of our work and the talented colleagues who contribute to improving laboratory quality across the UK and beyond. Hear from Gareth Davies as he shares his experience and insights as part of the Association for Laboratory Medicine’s webinar: Welcome to careers in External Quality Assurance (EQA), learn about career development in laboratory medicine through a personal staff story, and discover how our Total Testing Pathway (TTP) Programme supports quality and patient safety across the entire diagnostic journey.
We hope these resources provide an insight into the wide range of careers, expertise and opportunities available within pathology, while demonstrating the crucial role quality assurance plays in supporting laboratories and the patients they serve.
Webinar: Welcome to careers in External Quality Assurance (EQA)
As part of National Pathology Week, Weqas Deputy Director, Gareth Davies has been invited to speak at the Association for Laboratory Medicine’s webinar: Welcome to careers in External Quality Assurance (EQA).
This webinar is designed for students that are interested in laboratory science, want to learn more about careers in EQA and provides an excellent opportunity to hear first-hand from professionals like Gareth what the job roles in this field entail.
Gareth Davies
Deputy Director
How quality of POCT can support patient diagnosis and management
When a healthcare professional uses a point-of-care test, how can they be confident the result is correct? This talk will introduce the role of quality assurance and EQA in POCT, demonstrate how test performance can affect patient diagnosis and management, and provide an insight into careers that help maintain confidence in laboratory and near-patient testing.
From Chemistry to Patient Care: My Career in Laboratory Medicine
Gemma Brett
HCS Practitioner Advanced (Research)
When people think about careers in healthcare, they often imagine doctors, nurses or other patient-facing roles. But behind every accurate laboratory result is a team of healthcare scientists whose work supports diagnosis, treatment and patient safety.
In celebrating National Pathology Week, Gemma Brett, Healthcare Science Practitioner Advanced (Research) in the Weqas Reference Measurement Laboratory, shares how her passion for chemistry led to a rewarding career in laboratory medicine. Her story highlights the many ways science can make a real impact on healthcare, often behind the scenes.
Total Testing Pathway
Recent studies have shown that the pre-analytical and post-analytical phases of the total testing pathway (TTP) account for up to 70% of laboratory errors. These errors may adversely affect clinical outcomes and contribute significantly to healthcare expenditure. In contrast, the majority of current EQA programmes focus on the analytical phase. However, as the importance of managing pre- and post-analytical phases is increasingly recognised within UKAS accreditation, interest in EQA programmes evaluating these areas is growing.
In light of this, Weqas are pleased to announce the launch of the Total Testing Pathway EQA programme. This new EQA programme is designed to assess laboratory performance beyond the analytical phase, and will feature challenging samples, pre-analytical contaminants, drug interferences and paper-based exercises examining result interpretation, calculations and decision making.
Last updated: 06/11/2026
