London, United Kingdom, April 1^st, 2025 – The British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA), along with leading industry and health charities, today launched a new policy declaration that highlights the value of community diagnostics and their role in a future neighbourhood NHS.

A cross-sector coalition of health and diagnostics organisations are calling for urgent action to be taken through the government’s 10 Year Plan to ensure the NHS can provide the right care, in the right place all year round and address the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Led by BIVDA (British In Vitro Diagnostics Associations) and Steve Race MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pharmacy, the consensus initiative highlights the potential opportunities to use point of care, rapid diagnostic technology to create a truly ‘neighbourhood NHS.’

Community diagnostics could be a cornerstone the NHS – to be used in settings such as GP practices, pharmacies, care homes, urgent treatment centres, and even in mobile facilities in the community – bringing care directly to the patient, into neighbourhoods and out of hospital.

Launching in Parliament, the consensus policy declaration sets out the steps the government can take to embed community diagnostics within a neighbourhood NHS that is fit for the future, and underlines a strong consensus on the case for community diagnostics to go hand in hand with delivering the government’s shifts for the NHS as part forthcoming 10 Year Plan.

Supporting the coalition, Steve Race MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pharmacy said “This policy declaration rightly highlights not only the challenges that we face over the coming years - the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR),growing year-round pressures on the NHS, and an ageing population with particular susceptibility to infections that drive both AMR and pressures on secondary care – but also the opportunities to address these challenges through improving access to rapid, point of care IVDs in community and primary care settings.

It is my sincere hope that through initiatives such as this consensus statement, and collaborative working across relevant agencies, the government, healthcare professionals, patients and the general public, we can unlock the potential of community diagnostics and reverse the growing threat of AMR.”

Coming together to set out a call to action for government, the cross-sector coalition has expressed concern over the extended delays to implementing key recommendations on the use of rapid, point of care diagnostics in community settings. Helen Dent, Chief Executive of BIVDA commented:

“It has been almost a decade since the O’Neill Review made its findings on using rapid diagnostics to tackle AMR and very little progress has been made on this agenda, despite more recent reports reinforcing the Review’s findings. This initiative shows that there is a strong coalition of voices calling on the government to take the necessary steps to tackle this growing public health threat and support an NHS that is equipped to provide care at the right time, in the right place, all year round.”

The consensus initiative draws out key calls to action that will drive the recognition and implementation of community diagnostics within a truly neighbourhood NHS, calling on the government to commit to implementing innovative measures within the 10 Year Plan.

 

Notes to editors

The consensus initiative calls on the government to commit to recognising the role of community diagnostics within a truly neighbourhood NHS and to introduce the following commitments in the 10 Year Plan:

Appointment of a dedicated, full time National Diagnostics Director responsible for overseeing the strategic direction of policy on diagnostics at a national level, and with responsibility for championing access to community diagnostics within wider reforms for neighbourhood NHS – such as adoption in community diagnostic centres – including approached to incentives, informatics and pathway design.

• Both UTIs and RTIs are associated with high levels of antibiotic prescribing, and approaches to managing these conditions are central to infection management efforts and the UK’s commitment to antimicrobial stewardship. 

Investment in the Pharmacy First programme to support the adoption of evidence-based rapid, point of care IVDs and to support an expansion of the scheme to include respiratory tract infections, with supporting resource and incentives.

• There are over 11,000 community pharmacies across England and 89% of the population are less than a 20minute walk from their nearest pharmacy, with community pharmacies holding the potential to offer a “test and treat” service through their current NHS Contract.[i]^,[ii],[iii]

Designing a health system that can provide care all year round by integrating winter planning and access to community diagnostics into a future neighbourhood NHS.

• Over 71% of antibiotics in England are prescribed in primary care[iv] offering the clearest opportunity for optimising management of patients presenting with UTI and RTI symptoms through the use of clinical decision-making tools, both to identify where patients are in need of antibiotics and to optimally address health needs before a deterioration that may demand care in a hospital setting.

Recognition of the threat of AMR and support for expanded adoption of diagnostics to support clinical decision making around antibiotic prescribing in both primary and community settings, setting out a process for achieving Lord O’Neill’s recommendation that all antibiotic prescriptions are made with the use of a clinical decision-making tool by 2030.

• Numerous studies underline that adoption of diagnostics in primary care and pharmacy settings can reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing.[v]^,[vi] Evidence from more than 12 randomised trials using a point of care CReactive Protein (CRP) test have shown to reduce antibiotic prescribing by 22-36% for respiratory tract infections[vii] and 22% for COPD.[viii]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats. In 2019 there were 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR across 204 countries, and 1.27 million of those were directly attributed, leading the WHO to declare it a top global public health threat.

The use of diagnostics can and should be applied alongside the shifts that are needed for the NHS and have a role to play in the vision for healthcare that has already been set out by the government.

The initiative has been endorsed by the following organisations:

• Abbott
• Antibiotic Research UK
• Asthma + Lung UK
• bioMérieux
• British Dental Association
• British In Vitro Diagnostic Association
• British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
• Community Pharmacy England
• Fleming Initiative
• Institute of Biomedical Science
• QuidelOrtho
• Roche
• Royal College of Pathologists
• Siemens Healthineers
• Sysmex
• Thermo Fisher Scientific
• UK Sepsis Trust

About BIVDA

BIVDA is the national industry association for manufacturers and distributors of in vitro diagnostic tests in the UK, representing over 95% of the industry and more than 240 organisations. Our members employ more than 9,600 people, within a sector worth an estimated £2.7 billion and playing a significant role in UK exports.

BIVDA are available for comment or interview. Please send all media enquiries to pressoffice@bivda.org.uk.