A ground-breaking service developed and delivered by colleagues across the Royal Devon in partnership with the NHS England Genomics Unit and the University of Exeter has recently been recognised at a special NHS 75 Event.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our fantastic teams, the world-leading rapid whole genome sequencing service (WGS) is a national service that has transformed the prospects for finding a diagnosis quickly, often in less than 7 days, for critically unwell babies and children in intensive care suspected to have a rare condition.

We were delighted to work with NHS England to produce a short video about this service:

This service was recognised at the Big Tea, an NHS 75 celebration in London hosted by NHS Charities Together. Dr Andy Parrish, Consultant Clinical Scientist and Head of the Exeter Genomics Laboratory and Professor Emma Baple, Medical Director of SWGLH and Professor of Genomic Medicine at the University of Exeter, attended along with very special guests, Baby Reuben and his family.

Click here to read more about the event.

Reuben’s story

Baby Reuben became critically ill at five days old, but thanks to the swift diagnosis of his genetic condition by the WGS service, he was able to receive a life-saving liver transplant and is now thriving.

Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England, opened NHS 75 celebrations with Reuben’s story at her Westminster address in July 2023.

You can hear the full speech here.