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Who Are We? What Do APTs Want to Be?

2 October 2026

Lydia Judge-Kronis CSci FAAPT challenged APTs to shape the future of their profession at the AEE 2026 in Sheffield

Who Are We? What Do APTs Want to Be?

One of the key moments of this year’s AAPT Annual Educational Event (AEE) in Sheffield was a thought-provoking presentation from AAPT Chair Lydia Judge-Kronis CSci FAAPT, who challenged delegates to look beyond the traditional understanding of the Anatomical Pathology Technologist (APT) role and consider a much bigger question:

Who are we — and what do we want APTs to be? It was a question Lydia asked delegates to keep in mind throughout her presentation.

Not simply what is your job title? Not simply where do you work? And not simply what tasks do you undertake?

Instead, Lydia challenged the profession to consider what the role of an APT means in 2026 — and whether it is still the same profession people thought they were joining.

The changing face of mortuary services

The presentation highlighted the significant changes taking place across care after death and mortuary services. Since 2021, the sector has been subject to unprecedented scrutiny, with investigations identifying shortcomings not only in individual practice but also in governance, oversight, security, accountability and organisational culture.

The message was clear: this is not a change that may happen in the future. It is already happening.

As expectations around care after death continue to increase, so too does the need for APTs to demonstrate and evidence the quality, safety, dignity and governance of the services they provide.

“The mortuary is no longer invisible. Neither should the APT be.”

More than a post-mortem role

Lydia encouraged delegates to think about the breadth of the modern APT role. An APT is not simply someone who works in a mortuary and assists with post-mortem examinations. The profession has expertise that organisations need — from technical practice and  biological changes after death through to quality, governance, safeguarding, risk management, training, managing sensitive communication and service improvement.

Importantly, Lydia highlighted that mortuary practice does not exist in isolation. APT expertise has relevance across areas including safeguarding, security, estates, bereavement, infection prevention, maternity, nursing and emergency planning.

This means APTs need to be confident in making their voices heard beyond the boundaries of the mortuary environment.

From completing tasks to managing risk

Another important theme was the difference between simply completing a task and understanding the wider professional responsibility behind it.

Lydia used temperature monitoring as an example. The question should not simply be: “Is the fridge at 4°C?”

Instead, APTs should be asking:

• Who knows when it isn't?
• Who receives the alarm?
• Who has authority to act?
• What happens out of hours?
• Where is the deviation recorded?
• Who else within the organisation needs to know?

This changes the APT's role from simply checking a temperature to managing risk and understanding the wider implications for the service.

The same principle applies to quality assurance. Having an SOP is not, in itself, quality assurance. Professional practice requires competency, audit, incident learning, corrective action, process and document review supported with re-audit.

So, what do APTs want to be?

Perhaps the most important challenge Lydia left with delegates was to consider what defines professional value. If professional worth is measured only by the number of post-mortem examinations undertaken, what happens as the profession develops?

Lydia asked delegates to consider:

• Is governance APT work?
• Is training?
• Is bereavement support?
• Is service improvement?
• Is audit?
• Is advising the Board?
• Is speaking nationally?

The answer is that these activities can all form part of the modern APT role.

“Professionalism isn't a job title. It's behaviour.”

Unity: stronger together

Running throughout Lydia's presentation was an important message about unity and collaboration. The future of the profession cannot be shaped by individuals or services working entirely in isolation. Lydia challenged delegates to consider whether they were approaching the profession as a collective — sharing knowledge, supporting colleagues, developing networks and building resilience — or simply protecting their own individual areas of work.

Collaboration does not mean losing ownership. It strengthens resilience.

The appetite for this was clearly demonstrated by feedback from AAPT's 2026 AEE survey, where more than 90% of respondents said they valued networking, with particular interest in connections between early-career APTs, experienced colleagues, experts and Council.

For AAPT, this provides an important opportunity: to bring people together, facilitate professional networks and ensure that knowledge and experience are shared across the profession.

We need to be in the room

Lydia also asked delegates to consider who is shaping the future of care after death.

Government. Regulators. NHS Boards. Chief Nurses. Coroners. Pathologists. The Funeral Sector. Bereaved families.

And then one crucial question:

APTs?

If professional expertise is not in the room, decisions can still be made without it. Lydia's challenge was therefore for APTs to become participants in change rather than simply recipients of it.

That means developing professional confidence, engaging with wider organisational structures, pursuing professional registration and continuing professional development, and ensuring that APT expertise is represented nationally.

Science, care and governance

Lydia ultimately presented a vision of the modern APT as a professional who sits across three interconnected areas:

Science — technical competence, pathology, anatomy and post-mortem examination.

Care — dignity, family, bereavement and advocacy for the deceased.

Governance — quality, audit, risk, safeguarding, leadership and organisational assurance.

Together, these demonstrate the breadth of what APTs contribute.

So, who are you?

Lydia returned to the question with which she began:

Who are you?

And then posed another question for the profession to consider:

What is one thing APTs should have more influence over in the next five years? These are not questions that can be answered by AAPT Council alone. They are questions for all APTs. The future of the profession will be shaped by the collective contribution of APTs across the UK — by those working in services every day, by those developing their careers, by experienced practitioners, by educators, by assessors and by those willing to represent the profession.

AAPT's role is to make our professional voice heard

The Sheffield AEE was not only an opportunity to learn new skills and share knowledge. It was also an opportunity to reflect on who we are as a profession and who we want to become.

The challenge from Lydia was ultimately one of professional unity. We have different roles, different experiences and different workplaces, but we share a profession.

The more connected we are, the more effectively we can share expertise, support one another and make sure the voice of APTs is heard. So, what do APTs want to be?

That is a conversation for the whole profession.

And, as Lydia reminded delegates, AAPT's job is to make sure that professional voice gets heard.