PEOPLE in Wales could be set to receive quicker medical diagnoses and more personalised treatments in the future, as part of a new strategy to harness cutting-edge 'gene testing' technologies in the Welsh NHS.

Health secretary Vaughan Gething AM launched the 'Genomics for Precision Medicine Strategy', which is designed to ensure that people across Wales have access to a quicker, more accurate diagnosis by enabling clinicians to analyse patients' genes.

This will help tailor treatments to individuals, in contrast to the current standardised approach.

It also sets out plans to apply the latest techniques for predicting diseases and increase understanding of disease outbreaks.

Mr Gething said: "New genetic and genomic technologies are allowing us to develop a much more detailed understanding of the link between our genes and our health.

"The strategy I’m launching today has the potential to revolutionise medicine and public health; it marks a move away from reductionism and moves us towards a new era of precision medicine.

"It will enable patients across Wales to access this new technology and shorten their ‘diagnostic odyssey’.

"Our strategy is not just about providing new test results; it is also about the care and support that patients need in accessing these services and providing them with the information that they need, armed with the most accurate, up-to-date and considered information available.

"For instance, our understanding of the genetic basis of cancer now supports the provision of targeted therapies to patients. In lung cancer, four genetic markers have been identified and these allow clinicians to give the treatments most likely to stop the growth of tumours, shrink them and lengthen quality and duration of life."

The Genomics for Precision Medicine Strategy is underpinned by £6.8m Welsh Government funding and was developed by the genomics taskforce, which includes the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, the Third Sector and higher education institutions.