An All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Diagnostics was formally launched in the UK Parliament last month.
The SoR is a stakeholder in the group, alongside The Royal College of Radiologists and The Royal College of Pathologists, and hopes that the meetings will open up opportunities to influence the Government and MPs.
Next steps for the APPG include holding debates in Westminster Hall and running an inquiry on Community Diagnostic Centres.
The inaugural meeting, a necessary parliamentary procedure to legitimise the group, took place in Portcullis House. Maggie Throup MP was elected uncontested as Chair, with Lord Bethell, Elliot Colburn MP, Grahame Morris MP, Jim Shannon MP, Sir Oliver Heald MP, Tim Farron MP, and Mary Robinson MP being elected as vice-chairs.
Maggie Throup has a background in medical diagnostics, specialising in haematology, and was a junior health minister from January 2018 – September 2019 and September 2021 – September 2022. Lord Bethell is a former minister for technology, innovation and life sciences from 2020-2021.
Jim Shannon is the health spokesperson for the DUP and Elliot Colburn is Chair of the APPG for Cancer, providing opportunities to collaborate between the groups.
The secretariat (provided jointly by the RCR and RCPath) will be producing an activity plan for the year ahead, which will be shared with advisory group member organisations in the coming weeks. The group will be meeting quarterly, with the first meeting likely to take place in late Spring.
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