Health Secretary Wes Streeting was seen fighting back tears during a powerful television interview with singer Jesy Nelson, who is campaigning for all newborns to be screened for a devastating genetic condition.
A Mother's Campaign for Early Detection
The 34-year-old former Little Mix star revealed earlier this month that her twin daughters, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster, have been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1). The condition means the twins are unlikely to ever walk. Nelson is now petitioning for SMA to be added to the newborn blood spot (heel prick) test, which currently checks for nine other serious health conditions when a baby is five days old.
In an emotional segment on ITV's This Morning, Nelson told Mr Streeting: "It's just madness to me that we are living in a day and age now where we have got three treatments that are life changing, and it's still not part of the heel prick test." She warned that without earlier screening, many more families would face the same heartbreak unnecessarily.
Government Response and Pledges
Clearly moved, the Health Secretary responded by acknowledging the pressure he feels, stating that outcomes "could have been so different" with an earlier diagnosis. He praised Nelson for using her platform to raise awareness and confirmed he is working to accelerate the process.
Mr Streeting explained that a live evaluation involving around two-thirds of babies is underway but is not due to report until January 2028. "Firstly, can we make sure the evaluation involves all babies during the trial period, and secondly, can we bring it forward? That's what they're working on," he told Nelson.
During their conversation, Nelson showed a poignant video of two sisters with SMA1, where one required a wheelchair while the other could run, starkly illustrating the difference early treatment can make. "I found that really hard to watch because the outcomes for those two kids were so different," Mr Streeting admitted.
The Race for Treatment and National Disparity
Nelson's twins have already received a one-off gene therapy infusion, which halts the progression of the disease but cannot restore muscles already lost. The singer's campaign highlights a postcode lottery in screening, as Scotland has announced it will start screening babies for SMA from spring 2026, while the test remains unavailable for newborns in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
"I'm just hoping and praying now that he will put his money where his mouth is, and he is going to try and push the process quicker and make change," Nelson said after the interview. She gave birth to the twins prematurely in May after a difficult pregnancy with her fiancé, Zion Foster.
Jesy Nelson rose to fame after winning The X Factor with Little Mix in 2011, leaving the band in December 2020 to pursue a solo career.
