The service brings together NHS organisations, clinicians, researchers, patients and partners to improve healthcare through genomics, enabling earlier diagnosis, more personalised treatments and improved outcomes.
The service delivers NHS genomic testing across Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and surrounding areas.
As part of this next chapter, Bristol NHS Foundation Trust will work in partnership with organisations including Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust to provide laboratory and clinical genomic services for patients across the South West.
The Trust has also announced two key appointments to lead the service. Alexandra Pickard has been appointed Chief Operating Officer for the South West NHS Genomic Medicine Service and joins us from the Genomics Unit in NHS England.
Professor Emma Baple has been appointed as the service’s Clinical Director. Emma is an academic Clinical Geneticist based in the South West, whose clinical and research interests are focussed on rare diseases and the reduction of genomic healthcare inequalities. Emma is also the National Specialty Advisor for Genomics. Both will take up their South West NHS Genomic Medicine Service posts this autumn.
Genomics is already transforming healthcare. It is helping clinicians diagnose rare conditions and cancer more quickly, deliver more personalised treatments and provide answers for patients and families who may previously have faced years of uncertainty. The South West service also plays an important national role, including supporting rapid whole genome sequencing for acutely unwell babies and children on intensive care and in delivery of other specialist genomic services, including renal medicine.
Looking ahead, genomics has the potential to help identify disease earlier, tailor treatments to individuals and increasingly support a more preventative approach to healthcare. NHS England has identified genomic medicine as a key part of delivering more personalised, predictive and preventative care across the NHS.
Maria Kane, Chief Executive of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Responsible Officer for the South West NHS Genomic Medicine Service, said:
“The South West NHS Genomic Medicine Service exists to improve healthcare through genomics, ensuring patients across our region can benefit from some of the most significant advances in modern medicine.
“From helping diagnose rare conditions more quickly to supporting personalised cancer treatments and rapid whole genome sequencing for critically unwell babies and children, genomic medicine is already transforming lives.
“As host organisation, Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is proud to bring together partners from across the South West to build a service that is innovative, collaborative and focused on improving outcomes for patients now and in the future.
“Together, we have an opportunity to help shape a future where healthcare is increasingly personalised, predictive and preventative, ensuring people across the South West benefit from the latest advances in science, research and clinical care.”
