Summary
This statistical release makes available the most recent monthly data on NHS-funded maternity services in England, using data submitted to the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS).
This is the latest report from the newest version of the data set, MSDS.v.2, which has been in place since April 2019. The new data set was a significant change which added support for key policy initiatives such as continuity of carer, as well as increased flexibility through the introduction of new clinical coding. This was a major change, so data quality and coverage has initially reduced from the levels seen in earlier publications. We expect the completeness to improve over time as occurred with the previous version of the MSDS, and are looking at ways of supporting improvements.
The data derived from SNOMED codes is being used in some measures such as those for smoking at booking and birth weight, and others will follow in later publications. SNOMED data is also included in some of the published Clinical Quality Improvement Metrics (CQIMs), where rules have been applied to ensure measure rates are calculated only where data quality is high enough. System suppliers are at different stages of developing their new solution and delivering that to trusts. In some cases, this has limited the aspects of data that could be submitted to NHS Digital.
To help Trusts understand to what extent they meet the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) Data Quality Criteria for Safety Action 2, we have been producing two data files each month which contain information for data providers showing their performance against all MSDS-derived Safety Action 2 criteria. These CNST files were last produced for the publication in September 2022, which reported results for the CNST Safety Action 2 assessment month of July 2022, and now the assessment month has passed we are no longer publishing the CNST Scorecard and Data files. We are reviewing how similar data quality information may be more regularly included in publications in the future.
These statistics are classified as experimental and should be used with caution. Experimental statistics are new official statistics undergoing evaluation. More information about experimental statistics can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website.
Please note that the percentages presented in this report are based on rounded figures and therefore may not total to 100%.
Establishment of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs), and the abolition of CCGs and STPs as of July 2022
Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) were formally established across the NHS in England on 1 July 2022, with the introduction of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs), and the abolition of CCGs.
Further information around the introduction of ICBs and ICPs is available via the relevant Organisation Data Service (ODS) page here.
The derivations necessary to support reporting under the new commissioning structures are now completed. As a result, the September 2022 data released as part of this publication includes the ICB and sub-ICB breakdowns and the July and August data was re-released 27 January 2023 to include the relevant breakdowns.
Recording of mothers' Body Mass Index (BMI)
Following the identification of a data quality issue in the BMI_14+1Wks measure in this publication which was leading to some women being incorrectly assigned to higher BMI categories than they should have been, we have updated the construction of this measure to correct for this. We now disregard any exceptionally high calculated BMI values and any BMI values where BMI, height, and weight are all recorded and the recorded BMI does not closely align with the one calculated from the provided height and weight. More information about this updated logic can be found in the accompanying Metadata file.
This data quality issue led to some incorrect BMI_14+1Wks figured being reported in the July and August data. This has now been corrected and the July and August publications have been updated 27 January 2023 to include revised BMI figures in the Measures file.
Key Facts
121 successful submissions
For September 2022 data, 121 providers successfully submitted data with 121 submitting data on births.
One provider was unable to submit data and one has advised their submitted data should be used with caution - see the Data quality statement for more detail.
53,765 bookings in September 2022
53,765 women with an antenatal booking appointment were reported in the period, of which 56% were within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
Of the trusts that submitted booking data, there were 30,100 bookings in which the babies' gestational age was in the 0-70 days range.
We received data relating to 45,985 deliveries of 46,655 babies.
We have removed information about external data source counts of birth due to their lack of comparability with MSDS figures. We are investigating a more robust and appropriate replacement, and will reinstate a comparison when this work is complete
51% of deliveries were spontaneous
51% of deliveries were spontaneous vaginal births, 10% had instrumental assistance, 16% were elective caesarean sections and 21% were emergency caesarean sections.
Administrative Sources
Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS): this is a patient-level data set that captures information about activity carried out by Maternity Services relating to a mother and baby(s), from the point of the first booking appointment until mother and baby(s) are discharged from maternity services. This is a secondary uses data set, which re-uses clinical and operational data for purposes other than direct patient care.
Last edited: 14 March 2023 4:26 pm
