Maternity and neonatal (perinatal) adverse event review process: guidance

1. Aims and scope

Aims

The aim of this document is to support Boards to apply a consistent approach to operationalise undertaking perinatal adverse event reviews incorporating the additional reporting required of maternity services, for example to the UK Perinatal Mortality Reporting Tool [PMRT]^[2] (see Appendix A for more detail). Through implementation this will contribute to national learning, drive high-quality care and involve and support affected families.

Scope

A number of UK and Scottish audits and reports into maternity services (e.g. MBRRACE^[3], PMRT, Each Baby Counts^[4]) have highlighted the importance within perinatal services of a standardised and structured approach to adverse event reviews to promote national learning and to endeavour to provide families, staff and organisations with the answers that they seek^[5]. This maternity and neonatal adverse event guidance should be integrated into a wider strategy for risk management within an NHS board as per the National Framework for Scotland.