NICE 2001/ 033 Issued: 24 October 2001
The National Audit was carried out in response to concerns over variation in the Caesarean section rates across the country and the lack of good quality national maternity data. The Clinical Effectiveness Support Unit (CESU) of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) undertook it in collaboration with the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the National Childbirth Trust. The audit was commissioned by the Department of Health (England, Wales & Northern Ireland) and funded by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).
The results of this audit will help inform the development of a clinical guideline on Caesarean section by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Andrea Sutcliffe, Planning & Resource Director (NICE), said: “National audits, such as this, are incredibly important. They have the opportunity to influence care for all users of the NHS. The data captured by this high quality audit will be used to inform the development of a clinical guideline on Caesarean section that will be available to health professionals, and women and their families, in England and Wales. Just as the audit was conducted by a multidisciplinary team, the group that will produce the NICE guideline involves obstetricians, midwives and women with an interest in maternity care. We have commissioned the production of this guideline from the National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health.” - ENDS - Notes for Editors 1.The National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health has been asked to lead the development of this guideline. 2.The membership of this National Collaborating Centre is: -Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (lead organisation) -Royal College of Midwives -Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care -Association of Genito-Urinary Medicine and Medical Society for the Study of Venereal Disease -The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 3.The guideline will be developed following the Institute's methodology. It will have a multidisciplinary development group - with membership consisting of users of the NHS and health professionals working in this area. Drafts of the guideline will be published on the NICE web site. The guideline development process is published on the NICE web site. 4.The progress of developing the guideline on Caesarean section can be followed on the nice web site. 5.The provisional publication date for this guideline is Spring 2003.