West Midlands Genomics Laboratory
About the Laboratory
About the Laboratory
The West Midlands Genomics Laboratory (WMGL) is the largest genomics facility in the UK and the lead provider for the Central and South (C&S) Genomic Medicine Service (GMS).
The C&S GMS is hosted by Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) and serves 11 million people across a large geography. Working in partnership with four major acute Trusts and their Local Genomic Laboratories (LGLs) the C&S GMS covers the West Midlands, Oxford and Wessex areas. The C&S GMS is commissioned by NHS England for the provision of all genomic testing for the geography. The GMS works in close collaboration with a broad range of medical specialities including Clinical Genetics, Nursing and Midwifery and Pharmacy, as well as associated universities, charities, patient groups and industry
Please see the Central South Genomics website for further information.
Please see the Central South Genomics website for further information.
The C&S GMS aims to provide equitable access to genomic testing for patients within our geography and beyond. West Midlands Genomics Laboratory is a UKAS-accredited medical laboratory No. 8176. For more information, you can visit our dedicated quality page.
The laboratory is aligned with patient pathways with two overarching clinical programs:
Genomic Test Request Forms
Our four standard test request forms (solid cancer; germline breast/ovarian cancer; haemato-oncology; and rare disease and reproductive genomics) are now digitally editable, meaning you no longer need to fill them out by hand. Please complete the test request form on your computer before printing and sending to the lab alongside the patient sample.
Rare Disease, Reproductive, and Inherited Cancer Genomics Test Request Form — To be used for test requests for rare disease, reproductive and prenatal testing, and inherited cancer testing.
Haemato-Oncology Genomic Test Request Form (use if MIRHO form is not applicable)
Solid Cancer Genomic Test Request Form — To be used for testing for acquired solid cancer testing of tissue samples.
Germline Breast/ Ovarian Cancer Genomic Test Request Form — To be used for germline testing for inherited breast and ovarian cancers.
Whole Genome Sequencing Forms
Whole Genome Sequencing for Rare Disease Test Order Form
Whole Genome Sequencing Record of Discussion Form
Whole Genome Sequencing for Cancer Test Order Form
Whole Genome Sequencing Consultee Declaration Form
Prenatal Referral Forms
For R21 and NIPT referral forms, please go to Prenatal-Reproductive Genomic Testing.
Sample, Packaging and Transport Requirements
Please see Sample Packaging and Transport Requirements for information on the requirements for samples to be accepted, how samples should be labelled, the requirements for request form completion, and packaging and transport requirements.
Please ensure these requirements are followed in order to ensure that samples and referrals are accepted for testing.
Provision of Test Results to Requesting Clinicians
Default delivery of result reports is currently by paper copy. If preferred results can be emailed to you instead of the default of paper delivery; email is the preferred method. To request this, please email BWC.genetics.lab@nhs.net, stating your preference for email only or both paper and email.
For the primary recipient email address, best practice is to provide an nhs.net email address which can be accessed by multiple staff (for resilience in the event of absence). We regret we cannot use a personal email as the sole reporting address, but a personal email can be added in addition to a shared access email. Please consider setting up a shared access email if not currently available.
Note that electronic reporting cannot be turned on or off for individual reports, so once selected all reports (urgent or otherwise) will be sent electronically.
Set up is for specific combinations of Referring Clinician, and the Hospital or Organisation from which they refer.
Please make it clear when contacting the laboratory:
- which email address(es) should be used
- the combination of Referring clinician and hospital(s) requiring this delivery method
GeNotes
Genomic notes for clinicians: information to help healthcare professionals make the right genomic decisions at each stage of a clinical pathway.
Information for Patients and Users
For routine testing, patient consent for the requested testing, and storage of DNA, will be inferred by the laboratory based on consent to sample collection. If specific consent documentation is required, details will be available in the Test Request Forms section above.
All samples and records will be stored to maintain integrity, privacy and confidentiality. Anonymised genomic and clinical data may be shared within the NHS and with other healthcare or regulatory bodies for the purposes of commissioning, clinical audit, diagnosis or research. Patient-identifiable data may need to be shared for the purposes of legal proceedings or serious incident investigation; where required within these frameworks, and in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018, patient consent will be sought before identifiable information is released.
WMGL is committed to upholding the rights of all patients in our geography to equitable access to genomic testing. For further information see Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at BWC.
Laboratory Opening Times
Monday to Friday: 08:00 - 18:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 14:00
Samples received outside these hours may be temporarily stored at ambient temperature.
Usual office hours for telephone enquiries are 09:00 – 17:00, Monday – Friday. An answerphone operates outside these times.
The laboratory will be closed on 25th December, 26th December and 1st January. On other bank holidays, there will be reduced staff numbers and usual office hours may not be fully covered; however, essential urgent work, as decided by the laboratory, will be covered. Outside of these dates, usual working hours will apply.
Contact us
West Midlands Genomics Laboratory
Birmingham Women’s Hospital
Mindelsohn Way
Birmingham
B15 2TG
For general enquiries: BWC.genetics.lab@nhs.net
Telephone: 0121 335 8036