All Wales Medical Genomics Service (AWMGS)
The All Wales Medical Genomics Service (AWMGS) is an NHS specialist regional health service which helps and supports patients in Wales who have genetic conditions, who may be at risk of developing symptoms of a genetic condition or who are concerned about their family history.
Clinical Genetics Services
Clinical Genetics services are provided by a team of Clinical Geneticists, Genetic Counsellors, Family History Coordinators and administrators. The team deliver specialist genetic services to individuals and families with, or concerned about, rare and/or inherited genetic conditions.
Largely an outpatient specialty, patients are seen in outpatient clinics across Wales and can access telephone and virtual consultations. Adults and children are also seen during an inpatient stay in hospital where appropriate.
The principle activities of clinical genetics include:
- Gathering family history information and drawing up a family tree diagram
- Clinical assessment by history, examination and relevant investigations, including genetic tests where required
- Genetic risk assessment for patients and family members
- Genetic counselling: the process of integrating the information above and the communicating it to families to allow for best informed choices and decisions
- Discussion of possible options that may help, including prenatal tests, predictive tests, specific therapies or management plans, linking with support groups and provision of more detailed medical information
The Clinical Genetics Service plays an important role in liaison with primary and secondary care services, and also in the education of other professional staff across the NHS in Wales.
Genetic Laboratory Services
We deliver a comprehensive range of genetic testing services for both rare disease (germline) and cancer to the Welsh population, UK and internationally. The lab participates in external quality assessment schemes UK NEQAS, GENQA and EMQN to ensure we deliver outstanding services for our patients.
The laboratory provides a wide spectrum of services including:
- Rare disease - prenatal testing for at-risk pregnancies and abnormal fetal USS, postnatal testing for conditions such as developmental delay and infertility, specific testing for a variety of syndromes and single gene disorders, predictive testing where a family mutation is known, carrier testing, gene screening, and post-mortem testing for miscarriages. The service offers a rapid whole genome service for unwell infants.
- Cancer testing for diagnostic and prognostic testing for haematological malignancy (including post-transplant chimerism monitoring) and solid tumours, familial cancer testing and precision medicine (prognostic stratification, monitoring of treatment response and surveillance). The service delivers a range of genetic tests for various clinical trials.
For our full current suite of tests we provide, please visit our website.
We work very closely with academic and industry partners to help ensure that we deliver cutting edge, relevant and high quality services.
We also work closely with our clinical genetics counselling service so that patients receive suitable advice both before and after testing. For more information on either Clinical Genetics or our Laboratory services, please visit the All Wales Medical Genomics website.