Guidance

Newborn and infant physical examination screening programme supporting information April 2021 to 31 March 2024

Updated 10 October 2024

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/newborn-and-infant-physical-examination-screening-standards/newborn-and-infant-physical-examination-screening-programme-supporting-information

1. Introduction

The information below relates to data collected from 1 April 2018. Supporting information will be produced in due course for the 1 April 2021 standards.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommends that all eligible babies are offered the NIPE screen. The screen should be undertaken within 72 hours of birth and then again at 6 to 8 weeks of age.

NHS NIPE screening programme has responsibility for implementing this policy. The service specification (No. 21) for NHS providers is available as part of the public health functions exercised by NHS England. The universal offer of screening helps the early detection of congenital defects of the heart, hips, eyes and testes. Any abnormalities detected or any clinical concerns identified will lead to a prompt referral for early clinical assessment by the relevant clinical expert.

The 4 components of NIPE are:

  1. Eyes: about 2 or 3 in 10,000 babies have problems with their eyes that require treatment.

  2. Heart: around 1 in 200 babies may have a heart problem.

  3. Hips: about 1 or 2 in 1,000 babies have hip problems that require treatment.

  4. Testes: about 1 in 100 baby boys have problems with their testes that require treatment.

We aim to ensure there is equal access to uniform and quality assured screening across England and that families are provided with high-quality information so they can make an informed choice about newborn and infant physical examination screening.

Screening guidance documents on GOV.UK may link to a central glossary of terms, ‘NHS population screening explained’ and NHS UK for definition of terms. To see the meaning of an acronym, hover over it with your cursor for the full definition.

2. Summary of changes from previous version of standards

2.1 NIPE-S01: coverage

Updated wording for eligibility criteria. Revised wording of the data collection and reporting section for maternity services.

2.2 NIPE-S04: diagnosis/intervention: timeliness of intervention for DDH risk factors

Updated wording regarding hip risk factors.

3. Pathway themes

NHS NIPE screening standards look at 2 themes to assess the pathway and 2 KPIs are derived from standards NIPE-S01 and NIPE-S04.

3.1 Theme: coverage

Related standard is:

NIPE-S01: coverage

3.2 Theme: diagnosis/intervention

Related standards are:

NIPE-S02: diagnosis/intervention: timeliness of intervention for abnormality of the eye

NIPE-S03: diagnosis/intervention: timeliness of intervention for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH)

NIPE-S04: diagnosis/intervention: timeliness of intervention for DDH risk factors

NIPE-S05: diagnosis/intervention: timeliness of intervention for bilateral undescended testes

4. Resources to support providers and commissioners

Additional NIPE operational guidance is included in the:

5. Reporting and publishing standards

We publish annual standards and quarterly KPI data. We share the data with NHS England before publication.

Services can also access the quarterly KPI submission templates.

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