RCOG: National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA)

Summary

The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA) is a large scale audit of the NHS maternity services across England, Scotland and Wales undertaken by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

Using timely high-quality data, the audit aims to evaluate a range of care processes and outcomes, in order to identify good practice and areas for improvement in the care of women and babies looked after by NHS maternity services.

Content

The audit consists of 3 elements:

1. A survey of the organisation of maternity care in England, Scotland and Wales will provide an up-to-date overview of maternity care provision, women’s access to recommended services and options available to them.

2. A continuous prospective clinical audit of a number of key interventions and outcomes to identify unexpected variation between service providers or regions.

3. A flexible programme of periodic audits on specific topics (‘sprint audits’) within a focused time frame.