Overview
- The singer disclosed her twin daughters have SMA Type 1 and is pushing to add the condition to the NHS newborn blood-spot screening.
- In a This Morning interview, she described the babies’ breathing and feeding support at home and urged earlier detection.
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting backed her challenge, saying she is right to question how long diagnosis takes.
- Scotland plans to begin newborn SMA screening in spring 2026, but the condition is not yet included in England’s heel-prick test.
- An in-service evaluation to assess SMA screening, approved in February 2025, has stalled because researchers cannot be recruited until NHS England commits to deliver the pilot.