NHS England has announced the commission of 7 new genomic laboratory hubs today to provide equity of care for genomic testing across the country. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield Children’s Hospitals, Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are joining forces as one of the largest genomic testing hubs in the country. A range of specialised services for the region will be delivered in Sheffield including for Neurology genomic testing. We are currently one of the few centres in the UK providing a panel of genetic tests for Motor Neurone Disease (MND). At the moment the panel used in Sheffield tests for variations in 42 known genes that have a major effect on the development of MND, although there are many more associated with risk for the disease and likely more to be discovered. NHS England are now beginning to provide funding for whole genome sequencing to become more widely available for clinical referral. This represents the National Health Service bringing cutting-edge genomic technologies for quicker, more precise diagnosis of conditions into mainstream clinical use. Building upon the NHS contribution to the 100,000 Genomes Project, developments such as the new Genomics Laboratory Hubs (GLH) afford a real opportunity to advance towards more personalised treatment and puts the NHS at the forefront of a genomic revolution in healthcare.
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