Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 31
31
It is deeply concerning that maternity units appear to have been penalised for high Caesarean...
Recommendation
It is deeply concerning that maternity units appear to have been penalised for high Caesarean Section rates. We recommend an immediate end to the use of total Caesarean Section percentages as a metric for maternity services, and that this is The safety of maternity services in England 57 replaced by using the Robson criteria to measure Caesarean Section rates more intelligently. NHS England and Improvement must write to all maternity units to ensure that they are aware of this change. (Paragraph 168) 58 The safety of maternity services in England
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
130. We accept this recommendation. 131. NHSEI agrees that caesarean section rates should not be used to performance manage Trusts and supports the use of the Robson criteria to measure caesarean section rates more intelligently. 132. Robson group data is collected as part of the MSDS. The National Maternity Services Dashboard which uses data from the MSDS, has the capability to display Caesarean rates by Robson groups where trusts can compare themselves against other trusts within the same MBRRACE-UK group or nationally by quartiles, to identify areas for quality improvement. 133. LMS’s and regions have already been informed of this via a national maternity bulletin. Data quality is variable, as outlined in paragraph 74, but there is a plan to address this as set out in paragraph 75. NHSEI will cascade a further communication that advises against the use of total caesarean rates as a means of performance management, and instead encourages the importance of using Robson group data on caesarean section rates intelligently for quality improvement purposes.