The NHS is to screen all newborns for the genetic condition spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), starting later this year.
The national newborn screening evaluation programme will give clinicians a better chance of spotting SMA in babies before symptoms appear. Early diagnosis of the disease can allow babies to live full and healthy lives.
The government will expand newborn screening for SMA throughout the country as part of an evaluation programme. It will begin later this year and hundreds of thousands of babies will be screened thanks to the expansion of the scheme.
SMA can leave babies unable to sit up, crawl or walk. In the most severe cases, it stops them breathing or swallowing but, caught early enough, treatment can significantly improve outcomes for affected children.
The SMA screening evaluation will begin across England in the autumn, and the programme is moving faster than originally planned. Laboratories are set to start testing babies for SMA from October 2026 - three months ahead of schedule - after the government committed to speeding up the rollout earlier this year. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will seek investment to fund the rollout.
A similar programme has already been established in Scotland, drawing on funding from the private sector, and DHSC will look to take a comparable approach in England, working collaboratively with partners to deliver the rollout ahead of schedule.
Giles Lomax, Chief Executive Officer of Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK, said: ”After years of campaigning by the SMA Community and our partner organisations, this is a hugely important step forward. When newborn screening for SMA begins later this year in October, thousands of babies will benefit from earlier diagnosis and access to life-changing treatment. We are delighted to see the confirmation that the remaining 6 screening laboratories will begin screening from October 2027 - this demonstrates a clear commitment to making newborn screening available across England. No family should face a postcode lottery when it comes to a condition where every day without treatment can lead to irreversible loss of motor neurons. We are incredibly grateful to the families, clinicians, researchers, supporters and campaigners who have helped us reach this point, and we look forward to the day when every newborn across the whole of the UK is offered this simple, life-changing test.”
Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the government has already announced funding for a £4.1 million evaluation to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of adding SMA to the heel-prick blood test given to newborns as standard.
This study, led by scientists at the University of Oxford, will inform future UK National Screening Committee recommendations on SMA screening for newborns.