Nurses to lead new genomics service
The government has today outlined plans for nurses to lead testing and research efforts under a new genomic population health service.
The service, which is set to operate across England, comes as part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan and will patients undertake DNA testing in the community.
Published in July, the plan saw a series of significant changes for primary and community care nurses in England, including nurse leadership opportunities, more nursing apprenticeships and expanded advanced practice roles.
The NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) will increase diagnoses rates and treatments for a range of serious conditions including cancer, heart disease and rare genetic disorders, the government has said.
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And it will see nurses become ‘genomics champions’ to identify suitable patients for testing and support them through counselling and to help interpret their results.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) executive director for England, Patricia Marquis, said the nursing profession ‘is already playing a leading role’ in genomics
‘Nursing staff deliver the vast majority of care and are best placed to lead innovation and shape the future use of genomics,’ she said.
She stressed that the announcement shows how nurses are being recognised for their ‘expertise, skills and leadership’.
‘Investing in training to allow nursing staff to develop their skills will now be crucial to delivering these advances in care. That will show just how vital the nursing workforce is to modernising services,’ Ms Marquis said.
Minister for care, Stephen Kinnock, the government was increasing opportunities for the national nursing workforce.
‘By creating new opportunities in genomic healthcare and research, we’re not only improving patient care but also creating fulfilling careers that recognise and use nurses’ invaluable expertise.
‘Our 10 Year Health Plan is transforming our NHS into a service that’s truly fit for the future and put nurses at the forefront of this revolution,’ he said.
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Increasing nurse research leadership
Alongside this service transformation, the government is also increasing support for nursing-led research, in line with the chief nursing officer (CNO) for England’s strategic plan for leaders in innovation and evidenced based-practice due later this year.
Commenting on newly launched genomics service Duncan Burton said research advances will help ensure patients and communities can benefit from ‘nursing leadership’ in genomics.
‘Our nursing workforce already includes well-established leaders in genomics and research and this represents an opportunity to strengthen and enhance the excellent work of our profession in these fields, recognising their expertise in healthcare innovation,’ Mr Burton said.
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This support comes after over £10m has been invested through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to support nurses to develop their research and leadership skills and to develop long-term research careers.
In May, the NIHR also announced a new partnership with the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) to expand clinical research capacity and improve career pathways for nurses and other clinical researchers.
This will be delivered through aligned Clinical Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) opportunities, designed to help healthcare professionals transition from training to independent research and into leadership roles.
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