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Welcome to the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC)
The National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC) is a clinical audit centre located within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork based in Cork University Maternity Hospital. Our main objective is to work collaboratively with the maternity services to effectively utilise clinical audit data and epidemiological evidence and to translate these insights into tangible improvements in maternity care for families throughout Ireland.*
At the NPEC, we acknowledge that the statistics presented in our reports represent patients, and we use this data to learn from past experiences and produce recommendations for improved care. Please be aware that the data discussed in this website might be distressing or emotionally challenging to read. Please remember to prioritize self-care and seek support if needed while engaging with this material.
Our website serves as a central hub for individuals and professionals interested in the work carried out by the NPEC. This website aims to provide information about our ongoing initiatives, research projects, and collaborations with different maternity services across Ireland.
Thank you for visiting the NPEC website. We invite you to explore our resources, engage with our work, and join us in our mission to improve maternity care for families across Ireland.
The National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC) audits provide a robust framework for the evaluation of current obstetric and neonatal practices and allow for international comparison. Your unit's support for these national initiatives is much appreciated and valued.
In response to requests by a number of units, the NPEC has developed an online facility for electronic submission of anonymised data to an online database. Within the NPEC, all hospital and anonymised patient data will be maintained on a high-security server with access limited to relevant NPEC personnel only. The collection of data using the online databases allows the NPEC to access data in a timelier manner, in addition to providing a specific dataset for local use and assisting hospital audit at local level.
The NPEC currently operates using two online data collection platforms: OpenSky and REDCap. The online database to be used depends on the audit you wish to fill out:
If you wish to fill-out the Perinatal Mortality Audit form, you will be using OpenSky.
If you wish to fill-out the Severe Maternal Morbidity Audit form, for cases up to 2022 you will be using Castor. For 2023 cases onwards, please use REDCap.
If you wish to fill-out the Registered Home Births in Ireland audit form, you will be using REDCap.
Currently, the NPEC is in the process of moving all of our data collection tools to REDCap, please learn more about REDCap here.
Join our emailing list
Stay informed by joining our emailing list. Subscribers will receive:
Updates on the publication of reports.
Notifications about upcoming events hosted by the NPEC.
News highlights and developments.
Invitations to participate in research studies and survey.
Read a message from our director and other important contributors or watch our video to learn more about NPEC
Every time a mother gives birth,the important interventions, good outcomes and complications will be recorded and analysed...and most importantly, acted on.
Mary Harney, Former Minister for Health and Children
On the establishment of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre
Mary Harney, Former Minister for Health and Children
The NPEC works with the maternity services in Ireland. The NPEC is a team of midwives, researchers, administrators, clinicians and is directed by Professor Richard Greene. The NPEC produces annual reports on perinatal mortality in Ireland, maternal morbidity in Ireland, home births in Ireland and neonatal care of very low birth weight babies in Ireland and therapeutic hypothermia in Ireland, subject areas that constitute key indicators of quality of maternity and neonatal care. At local hospital level, the NPEC provides customised feedback to individual hospitals on how they compare against the national average. The NPEC makes recommendations in its annual audit reports. However, it recognises that recommendations are ineffective if they are not implemented. The NPEC has always strategically aimed to close the audit loop and since the establishment of the National Women and Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) in January 2017, several of the NPEC recommendations have been progressed. The NPEC works in collaboration with the NWIHP and acknowledges the key relationship that has developed between the two organisations. The NPEC is funded by the Department of Health through the Health Service Executive (HSE) and is based at Cork University Maternity Hospital in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork. In Dáil Éireann on 8th March 2006, the then Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney stated that ‘Every time a mother gives birth in Ireland, the important interventions, the good outcomes and the complications are recorded and analysed at a national specialist centre’
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