Surrey neonatal unit identified as outstanding outlier for two national audit measures

Data published in October by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health shows that the NICU team at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been recognised as an outstanding outlier for two measures in the National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP): retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening and two-year follow-up assessments for preterm babies less than 30 weeks’ gestation.

The NNAP is set up to review the standard of neonatal care across England, Scotland and Wales to ensure consistent high quality care in all units and to highlight where improvements may be required. The audit measures vary from year to year but covers the same key themes. These include mortality and clinical outcomes of neonatal care, optimal perinatal care, maternal breastmilk feeding, parental partnership in care, neonatal nurse staffing, follow-up of preterm babies at two years and on-time screening for retinopathy of prematurity.

Vennila Ponnusamy, Consultant Neonatologist and Neonatal Specialty Lead, says: “We are delighted to know from the NNAP 2023 national audit data that our unit has done extremely well to be a positive outlier for two of the 10 audit measures. We have consistently been performing well for the last few years in our two-year follow-up rates of preterm babies, who are at high risk of having developmental problems. In 2023, we achieved a 100% follow-up rate for all 25 eligible babies. By screening them through the two-year assessment, we have been able to offer timely referrals for additional support as needed.

“Additionally, for high risk babies, it is important to screen their eyes on time for managing the condition called retinopathy of prematurity. In 2023, we achieved 97.5% of on-time screening for this condition in the 40 eligible babies.”