NHS Maternity Statistics, England - 2021-22

More background information about the MSDS and MSDS v2.0 is available. 

Alongside this publication a Statement of Administrative Sources is also published, as required by the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. 

MSDS data are published monthly at provider level and higher geographies. The data items included in the published monthly tables are explained in a metadata document, and NHS Digital publish a technical output specification describing the format and possible values for all MSDS data items. 

The NHS Digital website contains more background information about HES.

The HES publications focus on headline information about hospital activity. Each annual publication includes a series of national tables and also provider-level breakdowns for some main areas.

All data items included in the published tables are explained in footnotes, and NHS Digital publishes data dictionaries for HES describing the format and possible values for all HES data items:

This data is also readily accessible via an online interrogation service (for NHS users) or via our bespoke extract service.

Please note that the following providers have higher than expected differences between numbers of reported delivery and birth episodes, for activity taking place in 2021-22, in the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data outputs:

RTP, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, are reporting approximately 3,490 fewer delivery episodes than birth episodes. It is not clear if this results from an overcounting of birth episodes or undercounting of delivery episodes. Therefore any analysis using the RTP delivery counts should be undertaken with caution.

RXQ, Buckingham Healthcare NHS Trust, are reporting approximately 2,320 fewer delivery episodes than birth episodes. RD8, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, are reporting approximately 790 fewer delivery episodes than birth episodes. R1F, Isle of Wight NHS Trust, are reporting approximately 360 more delivery episodes than birth episodes. For these three providers the number of reported delivery episodes are consistent with numbers submitted in previous years, so the differences appear most likely to be related to issues with birth episode numbers.

Therefore, some caution should be used when undertaking analysis of delivery episode activity for RTP, RXQ, RD8, or R1F.

Detailed information about HES data quality of data items, and completeness of provider data submissions is available.

Detailed information about data quality of HES and MSDS data items, and completeness of provider data submissions can be found in the Excel data quality files published alongside this report.

Joint data quality statements reporting against the European Statistical System (ESS) quality dimensions and principles is published with this report.

In April 2019 the MSDS transitioned to a new version of the dataset. This is the third publication of data from MSDS v2.0, therefore MSDS data from 2019-20 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years.

In order to prevent disclosure of identities or information about service users, all figures for the 2021-22 MSDS data have been rounded to the nearest 5. Figures between 1 and 7 are also rounded to 5. Percentages have been calculated from rounded figures.

Percentages included in this publication, unless otherwise stated, are based on total ‘knowns’, e.g. the percentage of caesareans is based on all deliveries with a known method of delivery, excluding those with an unknown method of delivery. Where there is a high percentage of ‘unknowns’ for a given clinical practice or outcome (these are identifiable in all tables), the reported figures for ‘knowns’ should be treated with caution. Given the fluctuation in the number of ‘unknowns’ over time, it should be noted that all reported changes may be the result of changes/improvements in recording practice rather than changes in clinical practice or clinical outcomes.

For information on fields referred to below refer to the HES data dictionary and MSDS Technical Output Specification.