The North West Diabetic Pregnancy Audit: a practical system for multi-centre diabetic pregnancy audit

Improving care for women with pre-gestational diabetic pregnancy is a core objective of the St Vincent Declaration and the Diabetes National Service Framework. The aim was to develop a practicable collaborative audit methodology for pre-gestational diabetic pregnancy.

In 1999, care professionals in the north-west of England agreed standards and a simple monthly data collection system. Annual reports are compiled to summarize compliance with the standards. Each hospital receives an individualized report comprising tables and funnel plots that allow between-hospital comparisons.

Data on pre-gestational diabetic pregnancies are collated from 30 maternity units. Funnel plots and tables presented in the annual reports highlight any large differences between hospitals in booking and outcome measures for diabetic pregnancies.

The annual audit reports allow the assessment of current management and outcomes for diabetic pregnancies at a regional and local level. These reports help to identify areas where diabetic pregnancy care requires further attention.