Haemoglobinopathy Screening Practitioners

Following recommendation from the National Screening Programme, two Haemoglobinopathy Screening Practitioners (HbSP) for the low prevalence areas of the West Midlands are in post-based within the Clinical Genetics Unit. The service is covered Monday to Friday and there is always one HbSP covering when the other is off.

The West Midlands Low Prevalence areas are divided into:

North - Staffordshire (Stoke, Stafford and Burton), and North Warwickshire (Nuneaton and Rugby)

South (Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Warwickshire - except postcodes CV1-CV6 which is high prevalence and under UHCW HbSP Team)

The HbSPs are responsible for providing counselling and screening for those who are found to be carriers of an unusual haemoglobin or thalassaemia in the following categories:

Antenatal referrals - including the pregnant woman and father of the baby and often their children

Newborn referrals - including the parents and often the newborn's siblings

The HbSP’s will also provide the initial counselling for couples where prenatal diagnosis may be required and will then refer immediately to the appropriate prenatal team if requested.

The HbSP’s are:

Janet Hunt (Adult Nurse) – 3.5 days per week (07974 003151)

Edel Robinson (Paediatric Nurse) – 4.5 days per week (07854 967407)

Useful link to the relevant national screening pathways Sickle cell and Thalassaemia (SCT) Screening: Programme Overview