Every newborn baby in the UK will undergo a full DNA test, under a new 10-year strategy that is set to radically transform the National Health Service (NHS). The ambitious plan, announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, aims to shift the focus from treating disease to preventing it, using the power of technology and genetic science. With a £650m investment in genomics research, the UK government aims to identify hundreds of inherited diseases in the first few days of life. Blood samples will be collected from the umbilical cord immediately after birth, replacing the current method of testing on the fifth day of life.
“Medicine is entering a new era. Thanks to genome sequencing and artificial intelligence, we can understand risks earlier and act before symptoms appear,” said Streeting, calling this a radical transformation of the health system.
In addition to genetic testing, the plan will also focus on moving services from hospitals to communities and digitizing healthcare processes. The British government has also announced a significant increase in the NHS budget – 29 billion pounds more over the next three years – to meet these major objectives and reduce long waiting lists. According to Streeting, this is the beginning of an era where prevention will be the strongest weapon in the fight against deadly diseases, turning the NHS into a system that not only diagnoses, but also predicts. The full plan, called the “Life Sciences Strategy”, is expected to be officially published in early July.