Genomic medicine strategy 2024 to 2029

10. Building Blocks

The previous chapter focused on the immediate need to develop testing capacity and capability. The focus of this five-year strategy must also, by necessity, be on the development of the core building blocks needed to underpin the further expansion of genomic medicine in Scotland. This includes the development of additional genomic technologies and their integration into wider health and care systems.

Without national strategic effort and investment in these core building blocks, Scotland will not be able to leverage the benefits of this rapidly developing field. The efficient delivery and expansion of technologies such as large Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) panels, WES and WGS, and the associated need for bioinformatic support and high-performance computing, are entirely dependent upon this infrastructure.

Running across each of the building blocks set out below is the need to develop, and cultivate, partnerships across the NHS, academia, industry, the third sector and the people of Scotland, recognising within a field such as genomics that research, development and innovation, secure data access and service delivery are inextricably entwined.

Figure 5: Our building blocks showing main themes of work set out within this strategy.

• Whole system workforce and education
• Patient and citizen trust and engagement
• Ethical and legal frameworks
• Clinical pathways
• Pharmaco-genomics
• Data and digital infrastructure
• National data returns
• Research, development and innovation
• Partnership working
• Future proofing