By Eleni Poulios
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the NHS have announced a new 10-year plan for getting the DNA of every single baby in the country tested.
According to Streeting, whole-genome sequencing will take place in order to screen for hundreds of diseases.
This will allow healthcare professionals to act quickly if any dangerous illness is detected – they will have the upper hand so to speak.
The model, Streeting says, aims for disease prevention rather than treatment by, for example, allowing medical personnel to prescribe personalised medicine.
Streeting hails medical ‘revolution’
“The revolution in medical science means that we can transform the NHS over the coming decade from a service which diagnoses and treats ill health to one that predicts and prevents it,” said Streeting in a statement.
“Genomics presents us with the opportunity to leapfrog disease, so we’re in front of it rather than reacting to it.”
£650 million has been pledged to genomics research by the government on this matter.
Currently, five days after a child is born, a blood test is offered. This test checks for nine different conditions which are all serious.
To get the blood sample, the baby’s heel is pricked to gather a few drops, but with the new genome-sequencing method this won’t be necessary anymore, as the sample will be taken from the umbilical cord shortly after birth instead.
Streeting has in the past been outspoken about his wish to move the NHS into a more preventive direction in order to both reduce the rate of serious illness and save money.
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Technology to aid earlier diagnosis
Artificial intelligence and other types of technology will also be used by the health service in future.
This will help healthcare professionals to predict illness and provide treatment or medication much earlier on.
“With the power of this new technology, patients will be able to receive personalised healthcare to prevent ill health before symptoms begin, reducing the pressure on NHS services and helping people live longer, healthier lives,” said Streeting.
However, disease prevention is not the only big, new aspect to the government’s 10-year plan: Streeting is aiming to move patient care away from hospitals and into communities while also switching from analogue to digital services.
Chancellor boosts NHS funding
These ideas follow the announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves that NHS funding would be increased by £29 billion per year over the next three years, alongside the intent to cut waiting lists, as per election promises.
The concrete plans of the life sciences sector for this topic will be published in early July.
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