The NHS newborn and infant physical examination (NIPE) screening programme is currently looking for practitioners in the field of neonatal and infant cardiology and cardiac surgery to review the NIPE heart screening pathway.
The purpose of the heart screening pathway is early identification of congenital heart abnormalities. These can be categorised as:
- critical congenital heart disease (CCHD), which includes all potentially life-threatening duct-dependent conditions and those conditions requiring procedures within the first 28 days of life
- major serious congenital heart disease (CHD), which includes defects not classified as critical but requiring invasive intervention in the first year of life
The PHE NIPE screening team plan to hold meetings in 2021 to 2022 to review the heart pathway with a representative group of practitioners. The first of these meetings is being planned for autumn 2021 and will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.
The purpose of the group will be to review:
- current national clinical guidance for the heart screening pathway
- NIPE programme handbook
- NIPE heart screening pathway
- current timescales for referral
- roles and responsibilities along the heart screening pathway
- any training issues
The group will also provide an opportunity for a discussion about:
- timescales for referral into treatment services
- the NIPE programme remit and input into supporting a safe diagnostic pathway and entry in to care
PHE Screening blog
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