Dear colleague

Pause in reporting procedure regarding the maternity incentive scheme

In recognition of the current pressure on the NHS and maternity services, the majority of reporting requirements relating to demonstrating achievement of the maternity incentive scheme 10 safety actions are paused with immediate effect until Monday 31 August 2020. This will be kept under review. Trusts are asked to continue to apply the principles of the 10 safety actions, given that the aim of the maternity incentive scheme is to support the delivery of safer maternity care.

In the meantime, it is still important to report perinatal deaths to MBRRACE-UK and eligible cases to the Early Notification (EN) scheme. Every reasonable effort should be made to make a monthly Maternity Services Data Set submission to NHS Digital.

In the current challenging circumstances, in descending order of priority for perinatal reporting to MBRRACE-UK:

• Notify all deaths;
• Complete the surveillance information for COVID-19 related perinatal deaths;
• Continue to complete the perinatal surveillance information for all other deaths, whilst there is capacity to do so;
• Complete the reviews using the Perinatal Mortality Review Tool, whilst there is capacity to do so.

The reporting period of MIS action will be extended and will run from Tuesday 1 September 2020 until Friday 30 April 2021 (this will be kept under review). A further update will be provided with a revised timetable and technical guidance being published in due course and shared via your submitted MIS nominated contacts. These will also be posted on NHS Resolution’s web site.

In response to the current situation, it has also been agreed that the 10% uplift to the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) for the maternity incentive scheme will not be collected from April 2020 for the year 2020/2021. The remainder of the notified CNST contribution will be collected as normal. NHS Resolution’s Finance team will make the practical arrangements to adjust the collect. Please refer to your trust’s contribution notice for details.

The supporting technical guidance will be updated to reflect these changes and published in due course. This will also be sent via your submitted maternity incentive scheme nominated contacts. The technical guidance will include updated reporting date guidelines.

We are aware that considerable resource and energy is devoted to ensuring safety actions incentivised through the maternity incentive scheme are met. Thank you for your continued efforts to support safer maternity care.

Please send any questions you have to mis@resolution.nhs.uk and a member of our team will be in touch.

We appreciate the unprecedented challenges at present, and would like to thank you for all of your hard work and efforts both with the current situation and in working towards the maternity incentive scheme safety actions.

Yours sincerely,

NHS Resolution MIS team

The NHS Litigation Authority is the operating name of NHS Resolution. Our services have a shared goal of reaching a resolution, whether that is around a claim, a concern about performance or a dispute between an NHS contractor and provider.

Our main services are: Claims Management providing indemnity schemes for the NHS in England and resolving compensation claims fairly; Practitioner Performance Advice (formerly National Clinical Assessment Service) resolving concerns about the performance of individual practitioners and Primary Care Appeals (formerly Family Health Services Appeal Unit) ensuring the prompt and fair resolution of appeals and disputes between primary care contractors and NHS England).