This year, on 17 September 2025, the World Health Organisation is shining a spotlight on child health safety under the theme “Safe care for every newborn and every child” with the compelling slogan “Patient safety from the start!”
The campaign highlights the increased vulnerability of newborns and young children—particularly between birth and nine years—and calls for care that is specific to their age and size.
Studies reveal high rates of avoidable harm in paediatric and neonatal settings, especially due to infections, diagnostic delays, equipment failures, and missed signs of deterioration.
World Patient Safety Day 2025’s messaging—advocating for individualised, system-level safety and early intervention—is reflected in two genomic studies linked to the NHSE Network of Excellence in Pharmacogenomics and Medicines Optimisation:
1. The PALOH-UK point-of-care test: individualised, rapid medication safety in neonatal care
The PALOH-UK project (Pharmacogenetics to Avoid Loss of Hearing in the UK) started in 2024 by researchers and clinicians at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), the University of Manchester and a Manchester company, Genedrive plc, builds on earlier NIHR-funded study in the Northwest of England.
Gentamicin is a life-saving antibiotic routinely administered to treat neonatal infections—but tragically, it causes irreversible damaged hearing in infants who carry a specific genetic variant. A rapid genetic point-of-care test was developed as part of the project, using a cheek-swab to identify whether a newborn is at risk of aminoglycoside (gentamicin)-induced hearing loss.
The point-of-care unit delivers results in 25 minutes, enabling clinicians to safely choose alternative antibiotics within the crucial “golden hour” following admission to the neonatal unit and avoid hearing loss.
The project is now being delivered as a national implementation study, supported by the NIHR i4i Programme and the Office for Life Sciences (OLS); fourteen neonatal care units across the UK are taking part.
2. Childhood asthma and the PACT study
Children respond to their treatment for asthma in different ways and some of these differences are due to genetic differences.
The PACT Study – Personalised Medicine for Asthma Control – considered whether if changing a child’s asthma treatment based on a genetic result would lead to improvements compared with standard guideline-based prescribing.
The study (alongside a similar Dutch study) showed that this genetic testing could improve outcomes for children. Drawing on insights from these studies, the Network is hosting a webinar in November 2025, which will bring together leading voices in paediatrics, respiratory care, and genomics to discuss:
- The current evidence base for pharmacogenomic-guided prescribing in childhood asthma.
- Potential impacts on prescribing practice, patient outcomes, and medicines optimisation.
- Opportunities and challenges for national implementation within the NHS.
A call to action
As we observe World Patient Safety Day 2025, let us champion genomics as a cornerstone of safer paediatric care—from the very first hours of life through childhood and beyond. We invite you to:
- Share successes to inspire expansion across NHS regions.
- Invest in patient and family engagement, and host dialogues to co-develop safe, equitable systems centred on children’s needs.
Together, by integrating genomic information within patient care, we can ensure that every newborn and every child receives the safe care they deserve.
For more information on the National Network of Excellence in Pharmacgenomics and Medicines Optimisation please visit this page on our website: https://www.nw-gmsa.nhs.uk/about-us/our-projects/genomic-networks-excellence/pharmacogenomics-and-medicines-optimisation-genomic-network-excellence