Newborn and Infant Physical Examination: Quality Improvement in the English Newborn Screening Pathway

The Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) screening programme screens newborn babies within 72 hours of birth in England for congenital heart disease, congenital cataracts, developmental dysplasia of the hip, and bilateral or unilateral undescended testes. Completion of NIPE screening is managed on the national NIPE IT system SMaRT4NIPE (S4N) implemented in all 136 maternity trusts in England. Feedback from clinicians and monitoring of data completeness on S4N prompted quality improvement work in the NIPE screening pathway, including updated clinical guidance, additional targeted training sessions for providers and monitoring reports for screening commissioners.