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Maternity Services Data Set

A patient-level data set that captures information about activity carried out by maternity services, relating to a mother and baby(s). It covers all activities from the point of the first booking appointment until mother and baby(s) are discharged from maternity services.

Page contents

Data set versions as presented in the DARS online system

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) v1.5

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS)  v2.0

Access method

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) v1.5 - Extract Only

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) v2.0 - The NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE) service and extract

Data set available in packages

Packages are pre-defined groups of fields and or tables that allow a customer to select from a list that best meets their needs. Packages do not allow a customer to customise their field or table selection.

  • Yes in Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) v2.0 only

Period of data coverage

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) v1.5 01/04/2015 to 31/03/2019

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) v2.0 01/04/2019 ongoing

Geographical scope of data

England

Linkable to other data sets

  • Yes - Options for linking using either pseudonymised or identifiable data

Data collection process

Submitted by: NHS funded maternity services providers

Collected by: NHS England

Frequency: Monthly

Clinical coding systems

Does the data set include any standardised systems of coding?

  • ICD9, ICD10 (International Classification of Diseases classifies diseases and other health conditions.)
  • OPCS-4 (Office of Population Census and Surveys classification of interventions and surgical procedures.)
  • SNOMED-CT (a structured clinical vocabulary for use in electronic health records.)
Full list of coding systems considered

SNOMED-CT (a structured clinical vocabulary for use in electronic health records.)

ICD  (International Classification of Diseases classifies diseases and other health conditions.)

OPCS-4  (Office of Population Census and Surveys classification of interventions and surgical procedures)

dm+d  (Dictionary of descriptions and codes which represent medicines and devices in use across the NHS.)

NICIP (National Interim Clinical Imaging Procedure provides consistent recording of imaging procedures.)

UCUM  (Unified Code for Units of Measure (UCUM) is a code system intended to include all units of measurement.)

TFCs (Treatment Function Codes are used to record treatment activities undertaken)

Read Code v2  (A coded thesaurus of clinical terms.)

Read Code Clinical Terms v3 (A coded thesaurus of clinical terms.)

UICC (Union for International Cancer Control classification of cancer by anatomic disease extent.)

IMD  (Indices of Multiple Deprivation measures relative poverty.)

Derived fields

Standardised formulation may be applied across multiple data sets to generate commonly derived fields.  Any standard derivations applicable to this data set are listed below. Please note that this does not include bespoke derivations created specifically for the individual data set.

  • CCG_OF_RESIDENCE (Clinical Commissioning Group covering the area in which the patient’s postcode falls where data relates to pre 1 July 2022. Otherwise ICB Sub Location.)
  • LSOA_OF_RESIDENCE (The Lower Super Output Area (lowest level without being disclosive) covering the area in which the patient’s postcode falls.)
  • CCG_OF_REGISTRATION (Clinical Commissioning Group which has a commissioning relationship with the GP Practice which the patient is registered at where data relates to pre 1 July 2022. Otherwise ICB Sub Location.)
Full list of standard derivations considered

GP_PRACTICE_CODE_TRACED (The GP Practice that the patient is registered at, as found when traced against the Person Demographic Service (PDS).)

CCG_OF_RESIDENCE (Clinical Commissioning Group covering the area in which the patient’s postcode falls where data relates to pre 1 July 2022. Otherwise ICB Sub Location.)

ICS_OF_RESIDENCE (The Integrated Care System covering the area in which the patient’s postcode falls. This will be null for any data relating to earlier than 1 July 2022.)

LA_OF_RESIDENCE (The Local Authority covering the area in which the patient’s postcode falls.)

LSOA_OF_RESIDENCE (The Lower Super Output Area (lowest level without being disclosive) covering the area in which the patient’s postcode falls.)

CCG_OF_REGISTRATION (Clinical Commissioning Group which has a commissioning relationship with the GP Practice which the patient is registered at where data relates to pre 1 July 2022. Otherwise ICB Sub Location.)

ICS_OF_REGISTRATION (The Integrated Care System covering the area in which the patient’s GP Practice falls. This will be null until for any data relating to earlier than 1 July 2022.)

LA_OF_REGISTRATION (The Local Authority covering the area in which the patient’s GP Practice falls.)

LSOA_OF_REGISTRATION (The Lower Super Output Area (lowest level without being disclosive) covering the area in which the patient’s GP Practice falls.)

Third party licensing

Does the data set require copyrighted clinical assessment tools or outcome measures that require a licence?

Advice and support

Governance of this data set is provided by:

Owning organisation: NHS England

Data Controller: NHS England

Data Processor: NHS England

NHS England provides a variety of functions for the data sets we make available.  Therefore, our knowledge and understanding of the data will vary, impacting the level of advice and support we can provide.

In relation to this data set, we undertake end to end management and can therefore provide a full advice, guidance and support service.

Supporting documentation and guidance

ARTICLE

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) guidance hub

The maternity services dataset guidance hub is a collection of documents, videos and useful links to support providers and users of Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) data.
ARTICLE

Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS)

The Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) is a patient-level data set that captures information about activity carried out by Maternity Services relating to a mother and baby(s), from the point of the first booking appointment until mother and baby(s) are discharged from maternity services. 

Last edited: 23 April 2025 5:24 pm