Evaluating the care we provide: the role of the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit

The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) have commissioned the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, (in collaboration with the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) to undertake a National Maternity and Perinatal Audit across England, Scotland and Wales. Funded for 3 years, the audit will encompass the care of healthy women and babies as well as those with complex conditions or circumstances. This paper discusses the value of auditing maternity services to explore variation in care delivery and how the audit will undertake this project. Aiming to evaluate a broad range of care pathways and outcomes, the NMPA will map the care journey from the beginning of pregnancy, during the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period across England, Scotland and Wales. This includes the care of healthy women and babies and those with more complex health and social care needs, across midwifery-led and obstetric units, at home and in the community.