Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Genomics medicine strategy launched to improve outcomes for patients

Scotland’s first genomics medicine policy has been announced (Andrew Milligan/PA archive)
Scotland’s first genomics medicine policy has been announced (Andrew Milligan/PA archive)

A five-year strategy for developing a “world-class” gene-based medicine service in Scotland has been unveiled by the Scottish Government.

The strategy will look to increase the availability of genomic testing, where a patient’s genetic information is used to diagnose and treat disease more effectively, with a focus on improving outcomes for patients suffering from cancer and rare conditions.

While genomic testing is already widely used in the NHS, this is the first strategy to co-ordinate the approach to genomic medicine across Scotland.

Health Secretary Neil Gray
Health Secretary Neil Gray hailed the strategy (PA)

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “This new strategy marks the first step towards developing a world-class genomic medicine service in Scotland that is agile enough to grasp the opportunities presented by this exciting and fast-growing discipline.

“Embracing new technology is a major part of our plans to reform and recover Scotland’s NHS and a co-ordinated approach to this innovation will improve the care provided by our health service.

“Genomic technology is key to that because it will help with the transition to more efficient ways of delivering services, including deployment of staff, skills and equipment.

“Most importantly, it will support better diagnosis and access to the right treatment by ensuring access to the right tests at the right time.

“That will ultimately mean people having better outcomes.”