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Abstract

Hundreds of NHS hospital staff have been told they could be transferred to a private company.

Staff at the Whittington Hospital’s pathology department – which is responsible for around two-thirds of all the diagnoses in the hospital – say they fear losing their jobs amid the changes.

An insider said: “We deliver an exceptional service for blood tests, infectious diseases and cancers 24/7, working shifts, nights and on-call. We have recently been told our services are being put out to tender and we fear losing our jobs.

“Pathology labs are an integral part of the hospital and it couldn’t run properly without us.”

The hospital board is believed to be eyeing up a deal with Health Services Laboratories, a joint venture set up last year by the Royal Free and University College hospitals with profit-making company The Doctors’ Laboratory.

The partnership is chaired by Lord Carter of Coles, who is chairman of a review panel examining the future of NHS pathology.

A Whittington Hospital statement said: “No decision to privatise the pathology service at Whittington Health has been made.

“As part of our commitment to deliver high-quality services we are looking at how our pathology service can best be delivered in the future. It is too soon to predict what the outcome of this process will be.”