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Service Development Initiatives - Mainstreaming Genetics

A number of initiatives aimed at developing new models of integrating genetics into NHS services have already taken place. Many of these have been funded by the Department of Health as a result of the 2003 genetics white paper, "Our inheritance, our future - realising the potential of genetics in the NHS". The NHS National Genetics Education and Development Centre was also established in order to facilitate the integration of genetics into health professional education and training and to support gentics in clinical practice. Some of these developments are listed below.

Are you involved in a service development involving genetics? Please contact us at enquiries@geneticseducation.nhs.uk and we will include details of relevant services, pilots and projects on these pages.

  • Competences for genetics in practice for non-genetics healthcare professionals
    These UK workforce competences describe genetic activities that healthcare professionals working outside specialist genetics services may need, including - identifying patients with or at risk of genetic conditions, collecting family history information, working out who is likely to be affected and referring them accordingly or explaining the results of a genetic test.

  • Mainstream medicine service development projects
    Ten projects across England were funded by the Department of Health to develop innovative models of integrating genetics into NHS services. The projects developed and piloted different models of genetics services in mainstream medicine and covered a range of genetic conditions.

  • Cancer genetics pilots
    Macmillan Cancer Relief and the Department of Health jointly funded seven pilot projects, which developed appropriate services for people at risk of cancer due to a familial genetic link.

  • GPs with a special interest in genetics (GPwSI Genetics)
    Ten GPwSI Genetics projects were funded to explore models of genetics in primary care.

  • Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH)
    The Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) Cascade Testing Audit Project was established to explore the practical issues, including resources required, to implement lipid level based cascade testing in a systematic way.

  • Service development pilots 2002-03
    These projects were established following a keynote speech in April 2001 by the then Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, setting out a vision for developing genetics capacity in the NHS to meet future need. Support was announced for small innovative projects which would help to prepare the broader NHS for future developments in genetics.

  • External (Nottingham) evaluation of projects
    An evaluation team from the University of Nottingham was commissioned by the Department of Health to support internal evaluators in developing robust evaluations of their projects and to analyse organisation and management structures and processes that underpin the effectiveness of genetics interventions.

 

 

Last updated: 13 October 2011

Genetics in Practice