NHS England has selected Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) as one of seven national genomic laboratory hubs.
The hubs will provide patients across England with access to the latest genome testing for rare disease, cancer and other conditions.
Each hub is responsible for coordinating genomic testing in the NHS in their respective areas. For CUH, this covers the 35 NHS Trusts in the East region and East Midlands, working with Nottingham University Hospitals and Leicester University Hospitals.
The formation of the hub will improve and increase career development opportunities (including national training programmes) for regional staff. Education & Training Lead Gemma Chandratillake said: “The formation of the East Midlands and East of England NHS Genomic Laboratory Hub is the first regional step in establishing the National Genomic Medicine Service, which will build on the NHS contribution to the 100,000 Genomes Project.
“Structured education will be a crucial part of the implementation process, and new resources to support staff with the transition to the new Genomic Medicine Service will be developed both regionally and nationally.”
- The Cambridge lab is based on level six of the Addenbrooke’s Treatment Centre, and is expected to oversee more than 90,000 tests in its first year
- For more information go to: http://bit.ly/GMCHub