The unprecedented healthcare demands, generated in response to the novel SARS-CoV-2 pathogen, were met by a resilient pathology service in Ireland that supported all aspects of patient management.

As in the UK and elsewhere, pathology departments in Ireland include the disciplines of histopathology, microbiology, haematology, immunology and chemical pathology, with delivery of these services (to a population of 4.9 million) being largely hospital based. They are funded directly or indirectly by the publically funded health service executive (HSE) with private hospital laboratories also contributing, especially for those who pay health insurance.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic was largely led by a national public health emergency team (NPHET), established by the Irish government and chaired by the chief medical officer. Throughout the pandemic, this group of experts continually monitored events and provided independent advice to government on the public health measures required. Key to the coordinated laboratory response was the establishment of the COVID-19 Laboratory Taskforce (CLT), established in April 2020 that included: experts in senior health service management, emergency management and procurement, medical and scientific input, expertise in data analytics, and modelling with daily reports. This group augmented the existing national communication structures in Ireland for pathology services including the National Clinical Programme for Pathology (N-CPP, established in 2011 to lead the delivery of pathology services in publicly funded Irish laboratories), the Clinical Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control (in existence for over a decade), the first NPHET (established in 2017 to address the spread of carbapenamase-producing Enterobacterales)1 and the Faculty of Pathology (established in 1981) at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

As in society generally, the necessary infection and prevention and control (IPC) measures, for example, social distancing, presented challenges in laboratories with restricted workspace. Rationalisation of services was, however, undertaken to focus on the …