The UK Government is set to roll out a groundbreaking plan to offer DNA testing for every newborn baby under a new 10-year strategy to transform the NHS.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, says the initiative will focus on prevention rather than treatment, using whole-genome sequencing to screen for hundreds of diseases from birth. The move is part of a broader shift towards personalized medicine and early intervention, with £650 million committed to genomics research.
Currently, babies receive a heel-prick blood test to detect nine rare conditions. Under the new plan, samples will instead be taken from the umbilical cord to allow for full genome sequencing.
Streeting, says the NHS will harness technologies like AI to predict and prevent illnesses before symptoms appear—a move he describes as helping patients “leapfrog” disease. The new Life Sciences Sector Plan, detailing this vision, will be published in early July.
This prevention-first approach will also see care shifted from hospitals to communities and services made more digital. The announcement comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledges to boost NHS funding by £29 billion annually over the next three years to tackle waiting lists.
