National audit highlights strong outcomes for premature babies across South West England
Highlights
- Latest national neonatal report highlights strength of perinatal and neonatal care across the South West
- New data highlights impact of PERIPrem bundle – implemented by Health Innovation South West and Health Innovation West of England
The latest National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP) report highlights strong outcomes for premature babies across the South West and West of England, including low rates of mortality, late-onset bloodstream infection and preterm brain injury.
Published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in October 2026, the NNAP report presents findings from neonatal care during 2025. The audit measures the quality of care provided to babies admitted to neonatal units and identifies variation in care and outcomes at unit, regional network and national level.
Across the South West and West of England, maternity and neonatal teams use NNAP data to understand progress in improving care for premature babies through PERIPrem (Perinatal Excellence to Reduce Injury in Premature Birth).
Launched in April 2020, PERIPrem is an evidence-based bundle of 11 interventions designed to improve outcomes for premature babies. It was co-produced by Health Innovation South West, Health Innovation West of England and the South West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network.
The latest NNAP results show that the South West and West of England have:
- The lowest mortality rate for premature babies [chart 3.2.2.7].
- The lowest rate of late-onset bloodstream infection [chart 3.5.3.8].
- The lowest rate of preterm brain injury, including intraventricular haemorrhage and cystic periventricular leukomalacia [chart 3.6.2.7].
You can explore the NNAP extended analysis for 2025 here.
Dr Sarah Bates, Neonatal Consultant at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and PERIPrem Clinical Lead, said:
The NNAP report highlights the strength of perinatal and neonatal care across the South West, with particularly strong performance in delayed cord clamping and early maternal breastmilk provision. These evidence-based interventions play an important role in improving outcomes for very preterm babies as part of the PERIPrem bundle.
The report rightly reinforces the importance of perinatal optimisation, as we know that timely delivery of interventions can reduce mortality and serious brain injury. We fully support the report’s call to accelerate national improvement over the next five years.”
Dr Bates is also Perinatal Optimisation Lead for the British Association of Perinatal Medicine Quality Team.
The latest data follows the sixth anniversary of PERIPrem, celebrated in May 2026, when colleagues from across the South West came together to reflect on the programme’s achievements and share learning.
More than 4,410 mothers and babies had received care through the PERIPrem bundle across the West and South West by June 2026. The programme has also spread to Wales and the East and West Midlands, reflecting the wider adoption of evidence-based approaches to improving outcomes for premature babies.
New research, published in Frontiers in Pediatrics, explores how PERIPrem has helped maternity and neonatal teams deliver evidence-based care more consistently. It highlights the importance of education, strong leadership, practical support and multidisciplinary teamwork in making improvements part of everyday practice.
It is encouraging to see in the NNAP 2025 report, that through continuous work in the optimisation space across England and Wales, the gaps between care provision provided to babies racialised as white and those racialised as black or brown are reducing. More work is still needed nationally.”
– Ann Remmers, Clinical Lead for Black Maternity Matters at Health Innovation West of England
