Newborn blood spot screening standards
Document Type
Standards
Summary
The national pregnancy and newborn screening programme covers a range of screening tests for specific conditions.
These standards relate to newborn blood spot screening for:
- cystic fibrosis
- sickle cell disease
- congenital hypothyroidism
- six inherited metabolic disorders. These are phenylketonuria, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, maple syrup urine disease, isovaleric acidaemia, glutaric aciduria type 1 and homocystinuria.
All newborn babies are offered a blood spot screening test between 96-120 hours (4-5 days). The test is done by taking a blood sample from the baby’s heel. The sample is checked to find out whether the baby is unaffected, a health carrier or has the screened for condition.
Overview of standards
Standard 1: Information provision and informed decision making
Parents and carers are supported to make informed decisions about newborn blood spot screening.
Standard 2: Offer of newborn blood spot screening
NHS boards ensure newborn blood spot screening is offered to all registered babies.
Standard 3: Newborn blood spot sampling and results
NHS boards ensure that newborn blood spot sampling is high-quality with timely reporting of results.
Standard 4: Laboratory processes and results reporting
The Scottish Newborn Screening Laboratory undertakes sample testing and reporting of results in line with nationally agreed standards and protocols.
Standard 5: Specialist support and care planning following a positive result
NHS boards ensure babies with a positive screening result are offered multidisciplinary specialist support and care planning.
These standards are a review of the 2019 pregnancy and newborn screening – newborn blood spot screening standards
The remaining pregnancy and newborn screening standards will be reviewed at a later date and remain current. These are:
- Haemoglobinopathies in pregnancy
- Infectious diseases in pregnancy
- Newborn hearing screening
The newborn bloodspot screening standards are complemented by the core screening standards, which covers:
- Leadership and governance in screening programmes
- Quality assurance
- Screening incident management and reporting
- Staff training and education
- Informed decision making
- Equity in screening