Research and analysis

Antenatal and newborn screening KPI data: Q3 summary factsheets (1 October to 31 December 2022) HTML

Updated 21 September 2023

Applies to England

Please be aware that this data covers the time period through the COVID-19 pandemic. Provider performance should therefore be interpreted with caution.

In addition to this, some providers were justifiably not able to make timely data returns or validate their data in this period. We recommend looking at the historical trend data of services before the COVID-19 pandemic to help interpret the data.

This report should be read in conjunction with the full KPI data tables published each quarter.

1. Fetal anomaly screening

1.1 KPI FA2: coverage: fetal anomaly ultrasound

National performance of FA2 (see standard FASP-SO2) in Q2 2022 to 2023 was 98.8%, higher than the previous quarter. FA2 is collected 6 months (2 quarters) in arrears. The trend graph below shows that England FA2 performance has remained above the achievable threshold of 95% since 1 April 2019.

All screening services who submitted data (138 out of 138) met the acceptable threshold of 90%, with 137 meeting the achievable threshold of 95% and 17 of them reporting performance of 100%.

Activity for Q2 is presented by NHS regions. Coverage ranged from 98.3% in South West to 99.2% in the East of England.

Quarter 2 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 July to 30 September 2022 131,887 133,447 98.8% 99.3%
Region  Performance %
East of England 99.2%
London 98.4%
Midlands 98.9%
North East and Yorkshire 99.1%
North West 99.0%
South East 99.0%
South West 98.3%
England 98.8%

1.2 KPI FA3

There is no intention to publish FA3 (see standard FASP-S01) by individual maternity service. We are reviewing the data with the aim of publishing it nationally in the future.

In Q3 137 out of 139 screening services submitted data.

1.3 KPI FA4: combined samples

FA4 (see standard FASP-SO6) was introduced in 2020 to 2021. New KPIs are not published in the first year of data collection. This time is used to improve the data quality and completeness, by revising the definition, adding clarity and / or setting thresholds as required.

In Q3 2022 to 2023, national performance of FA4 for inadequate combined samples was 4.0%. FA4 is a KPI where a lower performance is better.

All 21 FASP laboratories submitted data, for a total of 138 maternity services.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 4,152 103,856 4.0% 100%
Region Performance %
East of England  3.3%
London 1.7%
Midlands 5.1%
North East and Yorkshire 5.9%
North West 3.8%
South East 5.7%
South West 2.4%
England 4.0%

1.4 KPI FA4: quadruple samples

FA4 (see standard FASP-SO6) was introduced in 2020 to 2021. New KPIs are not published in the first year of data collection. This time is used to improve the data quality and completeness, by revising the definition, adding clarity and / or setting thresholds as required.

In Q3 2022 to 2023, national performance of FA4 for inadequate quadruple samples was 7.3%. FA4 is a KPI where a lower performance is better.

All 21 FASP laboratories submitted data, for a total of 138 maternity services.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 880 12,029 7.3% 100%
Region Performance %
East of England  3.4%
London 3.1%
Midlands 7.8%
North East and Yorkshire 10.8%
North West 4.8%
South East 12.3%
South West 14.3%
England 7.3%

2. Infectious diseases in pregnancy screening

2.1 KPI ID1: HIV coverage

National performance of ID1 (see standard IDPS-S01) in Q3 was 99.8%, remaining at a similar level to the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England ID1 performance has remained above the achievable threshold of 99% since 1 April 2019.

Out of all screening services who submitted data (139 out of 139) 138 met the achievable threshold of 99%, and 26 of them reported performance of 100%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 157,962 158,312 99.8% 100%
Region Performance %
East of England  99.8%
London 99.9%
Midlands 99.8%
North East and Yorkshire 99.8%
North West 99.7%
South East 99.7%
South West 99.6%
England 99.8%

2.2 KPI ID2: diagnosis/intervention: timely assessment of women with hepatitis B

National performance of ID2 (see standard IDPS-S06) in Q3 was 85.0%. The trend graph below shows that England ID2 performance has remained above the acceptable threshold of 70% since 1 April 2019.

139 out of 139 screening services submitted data, including 57 services that reported zero women. Of the remaining 82 services, 63 met the acceptable threshold. ID2 is a small number KPI, therefore the data should be interpreted with caution.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 176 207 85.0% 100%
Region Performance %
East of England  84.6%
London 81.5%
Midlands 74.3%
North East and Yorkshire 100%
North West 91.9%
South East 92.6%
South West 75.0%
England 85.0%

2.3 KPI ID3: coverage: hepatitis B

National performance of ID3 (see standard IDPS-S02) in Q3 was 99.8%, the same as the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England ID3 performance has remained above the achievable threshold of 99% since 1 April 2019.

Out of all screening services who submitted data (139 out of 139) 138 met the achievable threshold of 99%, and 27 of them reported performance of 100%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 157,970 158,312 99.8% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  99.8%
London 99.9%
Midlands 99.8%
North East and Yorkshire 99.8%
North West 99.7%
South East 99.7%
South West 99.7%
England 99.8%

2.4 KPI ID4: coverage: syphilis

National performance of ID4 (see standard IDPS-S03) in Q3 was 99.8%, the same as the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England ID4 performance has remained above the achievable threshold of 99% since 1 April 2019.

Out of all screening services who submitted data (139 out of 139) 138 met the achievable threshold of 99%, and 27 of them reported performance of 100%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 157,976 158,316 99.8% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  99.8%
London 99.9%
Midlands 99.8%
North East and Yorkshire 99.8%
North West 99.7%
South East 99.7%
South West 99.6%
England 99.8%

3. Sickle cell and thalassaemia screening

3.1 KPI ST1: coverage: antenatal screening

National performance of ST1 (see standard SCT-S01) in Q3 was 99.7%. The trend graph below shows that England ST1 performance has remained above the achievable threshold of 99% since 1 April 2019.

Out of all screening services who submitted data (139 out of 139) 139 met the acceptable threshold of 95%. 137 screening services reached the achievable threshold of 99%, and 26 of them reported performance of 100%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 157,975 158,378 99.7% 100%
Region Performance %
East of England  99.8%
London 99.9%
Midlands 99.8%
North East and Yorkshire 99.8%
North West 99.5%
South East 99.7%
South West 99.5%
England 99.7%

3.2 KPI ST2: test: timeliness of antenatal screening

National performance of ST2 (see standard SCT-S02) in Q3 was 58.8%, higher than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England ST2 performance dropped below the acceptable threshold of 50% for Q1 and Q2 of 2020 to 2021 but has been back above the acceptable threshold in every quarter since then.

Data suggests that while services were maintained, performance was affected for this KPI during COVID-19 in 2020. This is not unexpected as technical guidance in place at the time stated that services could offer screening later than 10 weeks.

139 out of 139 screening services submitted data for this KPI for Q3.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 95,381 162,223 58.8% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  63.9%
London 56.3%
Midlands 49.6%
North East and Yorkshire 70.2%
North West 54.4%
South East 59.1%
South West 64.1%
England 58.8%

3.3 KPI ST3: test: completion of family origin questionnaire (FOQ)

National performance of ST3 (see standard SCT-S03) in Q3 was 97.9%, higher than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England ST3 performance has remained above the acceptable threshold of 95% since 1 April 2019.

139 out of 139 screening services who submitted data, 125 met the acceptable threshold of 95% and 64 of them reached the achievable threshold of 99%, including 30 who reported performance of 100%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 160,001 163,406 97.9% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  98.2%
London 99.5%
Midlands 96.1%
North East and Yorkshire 97.6%
North West 97.9%
South East 97.7%
South West 98.3%
England 97.9%

3.4 KPI ST4a: referral: timely offer of prenatal diagnosis (PND) to women at risk of having an infant with sickle cell disease or thalassaemia

National performance of ST4a (see standard SCT-S05) in Q3 was 46.6%, lower than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows England ST4a performance since the KPI was first published in Q1 2019 to 2020. Thresholds have not yet been set for this KPI.

139 out of 139 screening services submitted data, including 58 services that reported zero women at risk.

We have identified quality issues with the submitted data, therefore we recommend that regional performance is not compared. NHS England and NHS Improvement are reviewing this KPI with the aim of improving data quality.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 246 528 46.6% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  54.3%
London 46.7%
Midlands 41.3%
North East and Yorkshire 57.4%
North West 47.2%
South East 37.5%
South West 54.5%
England 46.6%

3.5 KPI ST4b: referral: timely offer of prenatal diagnosis (PND) to couples at risk of having an infant with sickle cell disease or thalassaemia

National performance of ST4b (see standard STC-S05) in Q3 was 60.6%, lower than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows England ST4b performance since the KPI was first published in Q1 2019 to 2020. Thresholds have not yet been set for this KPI.

139 out of 139 screening services submitted data, including 49 services that reported zero couples at risk.

We have identified quality issues with the submitted data, therefore we recommend that regional performance is not compared. NHS England and NHS Improvement are reviewing this KPI with the aim of improving data quality.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 200 330 60.6% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  66.7%
London 70.2%
Midlands 41.0%
North East and Yorkshire 64.5%
North West 46.2%
South East 58.8%
South West 85.7%
England 60.6%

4. Newborn blood spot screening

4.1 KPI NB1: coverage of CCG responsibility at birth

National performance of NB1 (see standard NBS-S01a) in Q3 was 96.3%, lower than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England NB1 performance has remained above the acceptable threshold of 95% since 1 April 2019.

On April 1 2021, 38 CCGs merged creating 9 new ones, resulting in a total of 106 CCGs in England. In Q3, 106 out of 106 CCGs submitted data for NB1, and 77 met the acceptable threshold of 95%.

24 CCGs reached the achievable threshold of 99%, and 3 of them reported performance of 100%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 134,759 139,905 96.3% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  99.3%
London 94.7%
Midlands 97.4%
North East and Yorkshire 95.7%
North West 95.0%
South East 97.1%
South West 95.3%
England 96.3%

4.2 KPI NB2: test: quality of the blood spot sample

National performance of NB2 (see standard NBS-S06) in Q3 was 2.6%, higher than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England NB2 performance is above the acceptable threshold of 2%. NB2 is a KPI where a lower performance is better.

Due to COVID-19, during the Q1 (April to June 2020) time period newborn screening laboratories were instructed to relax blood spot acceptance criteria on samples that would normally have been rejected and to accept day 4 samples. Together these factors are likely to explain the reduced ‘avoidable repeat’ rate observed during Q1 2020 to 2021.

139 out of 139 screening services submitted data, 64 met the acceptable threshold and 24 met the achievable threshold of 1%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 3,829 148,607 2.6% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  1.8%
London 2.7%
Midlands 1.4%
North East and Yorkshire 2.9%
North West 3.2%
South East 3.8%
South West 2.4%
England 2.6%

4.3 KPI NB4: coverage of movers in

National performance of NB4 (see standard NBS-S01b) in Q3 was 78.1%, lower than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England NB4 performance has remained below the acceptable threshold of 95% since 1 April 2019.

On April 1 2021, 38 CCGs merged creating 9 new ones, resulting in a total of 106 CCGs in England. In Q3, 106 out of 106 CCGs submitted data for NB4, and 14 met the acceptable threshold of 95%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 10,828 13,860 78.1% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  86.8%
London 63.5%
Midlands 79.4%
North East and Yorkshire 83.6%
North West 82.6%
South East 81.8%
South West 77.7%
England 78.1%

5. Newborn hearing screening

5.1 KPI NH1: coverage

National performance of NH1 (see standard NHSP-S01) in Q3 was 98.6%, slightly higher than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England NH1 performance has met the acceptable threshold of 98% since Q3 2020 to 2021.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 NHSP encouraged services to continue screening where safe to do so in line with national standards and the NHSP technical guidance. However, in some areas screening was delayed due to COVID-19 and we have seen lower coverage as a result. This particularly affected community services where Health Visitors suspended home visits.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 144,912 146,925 98.6% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  99.2%
London 98.6%
Midlands 98.7%
North East and Yorkshire 98.3%
North West 97.8%
South East 99.1%
South West 98.9%
England 98.6%

5.2 KPI NH2: diagnosis/intervention – time from screening outcome to attendance at an audiological assessment appointment

National performance of NH2 (see standard NHSP-S05) in Q3 was 89.5%, lower than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England NH2 performance dropped significantly in Q4 2019 to 2020 and Q1 2020 to 2021, however since then it has risen again.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in line with national guidance, many audiology departments closed. This resulted in a delay in the assessment of babies referred from the screen in most services.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 2,722 3,041 89.5% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  93.0%
London 91.3%
Midlands 89.2%
North East and Yorkshire 88.5%
North West 85.0%
South East 91.8%
South West 93.2%
England 89.5%

6. Newborn and infant physical examination screening

6.1 KPI NP1: coverage

National performance of NP1 (see standard NIPE-S01) in Q3 was 96.1%, lower than the previous quarter. The trend graph below shows that England NP1 performance has remained above the acceptable threshold of 95% since 1 April 2019.

Out of 128 screening services, 102 met the acceptable threshold. 30 services met the achievable threshold of 97.5%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 139,241 144,886 96.1% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  97.0%
London 96.0%
Midlands 96.1%
North East and Yorkshire 95.7%
North West 95.0%
South East 96.1%
South West 97.4%
England 96.1%

6.2 KPI NP3: diagnosis/intervention – timeliness of ultrasound scan of the hips for developmental dysplasia

NP3 (see standard NIPE-S03) was introduced in 2021 to 2022. New KPIs are not published in the first year of data collection. This time is used to improve the data quality and completeness, by revising the definition, adding clarity and / or setting thresholds as required.

In Q3 2022 to 2023, national performance of NP3 was 70.7%.

Out of 128 screening services, 8 met the acceptable threshold of 90.0%.

Quarter 3 performance

Reporting period Numerator Denominator Performance % Completeness of data %
1 October to 31 December 2022 9,727 13,767 70.7% 100%
Region  Performance %
East of England  78.8%
London 73.6%
Midlands 68.7%
North East and Yorkshire 68.0%
North West 63.7%
South East 71.7%
South West 70.9%
England 70.7%