Who we are
The Central and South (CAS) Genomic Medicine Service combines the CAS Genomic Medicine Service Alliance and Genomic Laboratory Hub.
We are one of seven regional services across England, established to coordinate the integration of genomics into routine healthcare for eligible patients in our region.
Partner Trusts for the CAS Genomic Medicine Service are University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, and University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. We serve a broad geography, covering the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley, and Wessex.
Genomic Laboratory Hub (GLH)
The NHS Central and South Genomic Laboratory Hub is one of seven GLHs created by NHS England to deliver genomic testing across the country. The Hubs, as part of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, will help the NHS become the first health service in the world to bring genomic testing and personalised medicine into routine care, with a key focus on improving our understanding of the underlying causes of illness to guide specific treatment options for each patient.
The Central and South GLH is hosted by Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, working in partnership with Local Genomic Laboratories (LGLs) in Birmingham, Oxford, Southampton and Wessex. The GLH provides all genomic testing, as set out in the National Genomic Test Directory, across the Central and South region.
The GLH also works closely with the Central and South Genomic Medicine Service Alliance to coordinate the integration of genomics into routine healthcare for eligible patients within our region.
The Central and South GLH provides and coordinates tests, within agreed turnaround times, for rare and inherited diseases, cancer and haematological malignancies. Clinical referrals must be made for samples to be accepted by the laboratories.
Genomic Medicine Service Alliance (GMSA)
The NHS Central and South Genomic Medicine Service Alliance (GMS Alliance) is one of seven Alliances launched in England in January 2021. The Alliances have been created by NHS England to embed genomics into routine care across the country, ensuring equity of access and providing faster diagnoses and more effective, personalised treatment for patients. The Alliances, as part of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, will help the NHS become the first health service in the world to bring genomic testing and personalised medicine into routine care, with a key focus on improving our understanding of the underlying causes of illness to guide specific treatment options for each patient.
The Alliance aims to provide access for genetic and genomic testing for our patient population, and will work in collaboration with partner organisations and patient and public involvement experts to build on our existing clinical and research strengths to build trust in genomics for patients, the public and NHS staff and bring genomic medicine to the heart of patient care.
The C&S GMSA will aim to achieve this through establishing standardised testing pathways, providing genomic education to clinicians, and understanding the unmet needs of patients and people across our geography.
More information about our work and some of our projects is included in leaflets, originally produced for the 2022 Genomics Summit:
Clinical Genetics
Clinical Genetics is a multidisciplinary medical specialty comprised of clinical geneticists, genetic counsellors, specialist nurses, research officers and administrative staff. Clinical Genetics teams work together to diagnose genetic conditions within families and help patients to understand and adapt to their condition. Once an initial genetic diagnosis is made in an individual, members of their family can be seen by Clinical Genetics to assess their risk of inheriting the condition.
Within our CAS GMS, we have three regional Clinical Genetics services which are located in the West Midlands, Oxford and Wessex.