New birth case study

This case study highlights the need for Personal Demographics Service (PDS) users to always:   

• validate patient data
• investigate suspicious data
• use given names for new born babies, if known
• report PDS data quality incidents to the National Back Office (NBO) via the service desk

A midwife generates an NHS number for a baby, but links it with the incorrect mother.

Limited information is provided when the incident is reported to the NBO, but the NBO investigation confirms details of the correct mother, and also establishes that the individual incorrectly linked to the newborn is not pregnant, and will not be giving birth to a baby that will require an NHS number. 

The NBO are unable to create a link between the baby and the correct mother, but hide/delete all details associated with the baby that relate to the incorrect mother.

A new incident is subsequently raised by local Primary Care Support, requesting the baby's NHS number is invalidated. 

The NBO investigation confirms the hospital allocated a second NHS number for the baby, this time linking the baby with the correct mother, but had failed to notify the NBO of the creation of the duplicate NHS number. 

The NBO contacts the hospital to establish which NHS number has been used for blood spots and screening, and retains this NHS number when resolving the duplicate so the test results can easily be connected to the correct patient, eliminating clinical risk to the patient.

The provision of all relevant information when logging an incident enables the NBO to provide a full and complete resolution. The limited information provided in this instance resulted in NBO twice investigating the same PDS record.  

When a baby is linked with an incorrect mother, and the incorrectly associated expectant mother subsequently gives birth:

• an NHS number cannot be generated for her baby until the incorrect association has been investigated, and resolved by the NBO
• blood spots and screening are delayed, which is clinically dangerous and puts the baby's safety at risk
• the baby's discharge from hospital is also delayed

The effect of a patient having duplicate NHS numbers is that one or more of the patient's clinical records may be incomplete, on which a clinician may make a clinical judgement or may have made a clinical judgement in the past. Duplicate NHS numbers are therefore clinically dangerous, and put patient safety at risk.

The PDS user's failure to validate patient data and to report a duplicate NHS number demonstrates bad data quality practice.