Clinical bioinformatics training: NHS report

The UK’s Health Education England (HEE) team, under the auspices of the National Health Service (NHS), has published a report setting out a phased approach to providing the training required to support the introduction of genomic technologies within the UK healthcare system.

The UK’s 100,000 Genomes Project is underway, with construction of the Genomes England sequencing centre on the Wellcome Genome Campus scheduled for completion in Autumn 2015. Large-scale endeavours like these, coupled with the growing adoption of genomics technologies in healthcare services, is leading to an explosion in the need for trained professionals who are able to analyse and interpret complex DNA sequencing data.

Led jointly by Sian Ellard of the University of Exeter Medical School and Janet Thornton, Director of EMBL-EBI, the report is the output of the HEE’s Bioinformatics Task & Finish Group, which comprised leading specialists from clinical academia, the NHS and genomic research. It sets a timeline for immediate and longer-term action to deliver training.

“With input from many people and organisations, Cath Brooksbank, Head of Training at EMBL-EBI, developed a matrix of training requirements for the different types of employees and the most appropriate form of delivery,” explains Professor Thornton. “We also recommended serious investment in biomedical informatics training at Masters and PhD levels. The urgency of such training programmes is daunting, but cannot be overstated – using the newly emerging data to maximise the benefit to the patient is critical.”

The full report

You can download the full report, 'Developing Clinical Bioinformatics Training in the NHS’, from the NHS Health Education England website.