This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Newborn screening 'not good enough'
A new report has warned that babies born in the UK are missing out on checks for rare but serious health conditions, putting lives at risk.
The NHS currently offers newborns a blood test to screen for up to nine conditions, despite many other European countries looking for 20 or more illnesses. In the US, babies are screened for more than 50, the charity Genetic Alliance UK says.
It is up to the governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to decide which tests to provide, although Genetic Alliance UK is now claiming that affordable ways to expand the screening exist, but are not being used.
The newborn heel prick or blood spot test is not compulsory but it is recommended because it lets doctors identify rare illnesses early. This means that the best treatment can be offered to prevent disability and, in some cases, even death.
The charity says that heel prick blood samples could be used to detect more conditions than those for which screening currently happens, arguing that the UK is lagging behind other countries and some treatable illnesses are going undetected.
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