An SWLP team that revolutionised one-stop cancer diagnostic clinics is celebrating a decade of service, and a prestigious national award nomination.
The Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) has been shortlisted for IBMS Team of the Year 2026 awards, one of the most prestigious accolades in biomedical science.
The news comes as the team marks 10 years of reporting cases and attending ROSE FNA clinics – transforming a service traditionally led by consultants into a biomedical scientist-led model that has improved efficiency, built trust with service users, and freed up consultants to focus on more complex cases.
One-stop clinics making a difference
ROSE FNA clinics are one-stop services where patients with lumps – for example in the neck or lungs – can have samples checked for adequacy on the spot. The team attends head and neck clinics and EBUS (endobronchial ultrasound FNA) sessions at Croydon every Wednesday, as well as clinics at St George’s.
“We check whether we’ve got enough material and whether the sample is triaged appropriately,” explained Meera Mylvaganam, Manager of Diagnostic Cytology.
“Not many centres have these BMS-led ROSE clinics. Traditionally they were consultant-attended. But after 10 years, we’ve built the experience and expertise to do this confidently. Our service users think highly of us – they trust when we say something is adequate.”
Freeing up consultants, expanding skills
The BMS-led model has created a ripple of benefits across the organisation.
“It has freed up consultants to concentrate on more complex, high-level cases,” Meera said. “And it has allowed us to expand our skill set as well.”
The reporting team now consists of four biomedical scientists. Three report negative cases, with Meera additionally qualified to report malignant (cancer) cases. A fourth team member is currently training to report negatives.
IBMS Team of the Year shortlisting
The ROSE FNA team has now been shortlisted for the IBMS Team of the Year award, which will be announced at a ceremony on Friday 26 June 2026 at The Brewery in London.
The IBMS Awards are widely regarded as the most prestigious in biomedical science, recognising excellence, innovation and outstanding contribution to the profession.
Meera said the shortlisting is a testament to the team’s dedication over the past decade.
A leaner, more collaborative service
Now in her new role as Diagnostic Cytology Manager, Meera is looking to build on the team’s success by strengthening links with other disciplines.
“We heavily rely on microbiology, for example, because we have to correlate our results with them,” she said. “It’s nice to streamline all of our processes and make the overall service leaner.
“I want other disciplines to know they can reach out to me – not just to collaborate, but to talk about how we can work better together.”