Mission Statement

• 1. Mission Statement
• 2. Our vision: a summary
• 3. The NHS Plan
• 4. Commitment
• 5. Objectives general to linked Newborn and Antenatal Screening Programmes

1. Mission Statement

Our goal is to develop a linked programme of high quality screening and care in order to:

• Support people to make informed choices during pregnancy and before conception.
• Improve infant health through prompt identification of affected babies.
• Provide high quality and accessible care throughout England.
• Promote greater understanding and awareness of the disorders and the value of screening.

2. Our vision: a summary

• Young people receive accurate information about the conditions and testing
• Parents-to-be get timely information and screening during pregnancy
• NHS staff offer a quality screening service
• People know about the conditions and have confidence in the Screening Programme
• Babies with haemoglobin disorders and their families get the support they need, right from the start
• Patients get excellent care, throughout their lives, wherever they live
• The Screening Programme continuously strives to improve and provide a model for other services

3. The NHS Plan

The NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia (SC&T) Screening Programme was set up in England in 2001 following Government commitment in the NHS Plan* (2000). It is the world's first linked antenatal and newborn screening programme.

* to implement "… effective and appropriate screening programmes for women and children including a new national linked antenatal and neonatal screening programme for haemoglobinopathy and sickle cell disease by 2004…"

4. Commitment

This commitment covers following screening programmes:

Antenatal screening for sickle cell disease and thalassaemia
Aims to allow informed reproductive choice by identifying couples at risk of at affected baby at an early stage of pregnancy.  Options include prenatal diagnosis and termination of an affected pregnancy, as well as continuation of affected pregnancies.

Newborn screening for sickle cell disease
Aims to identify infants with sickle cell disease who are at risk of presenting for the first time with severe overwhelming infections and splenic sequestration crises.  Early diagnosis allows prophylaxis with penicillin and vaccines.  Support and training for parents helps identify children with complications and helps these present early for treatment.  This has been found to reduce complications and deaths in young infants.

5. Objectives general to linked Newborn and Antenatal Screening Programmes

1. To ensure an appropriate level of understanding about screening and these conditions among professionals involved with the programme to allow the effective and sensitive delivery of the screening programme to the population in general.
2. To ensure that education and community awareness of the value of screening is provided to the wider population in an acceptable and accessible manner, is appropriate to the level and needs of the relevant community groups and aims to reduce the stigma sometimes associated with the conditions screened for.
3. To provide regular written feedback of the effectiveness and quality of the service to:
   • The population screened
   • The providers of the service
   • The commissioners of the service
   • The range of bodies concerned with quality of health services as part of openness and transparency about service quality.
4. To evaluate the service on an ongoing basis to assist continuous quality improvement.
5. To make effective and efficient use of resources to the benefit of the population
6. To support and carry out research to inform the development of the programme
7. To make the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia programme a model programme worldwide and specifically in Europe.