CARIS encourages everyone working within the health service who knows of a case of congenital anomaly to report it to the register. Cases can be reported for patients up to 18 years of age. We are particularly keen to hear regularly from delivery suites, SCBU, neonatal wards, paediatric clinics and community services.
Reporting can be done in a number of ways:
Email our team directly: caris.safehavenmailbox@wales.nhs.uk. This is a safe, confidential way of reporting cases of congenital anomaly. please include the NHS Number of the mother, baby or both, date of delivery or expected delivery and possible diagnosis.
The e-Alert is a web-based version of the CARIS card. It can be found on the CARIS web-page (e-Alert). As with the warning card, the e-Alert can be used to report an antenatal suspicion of an anomaly or to report cases detected postnatally. Remember to save the site to your web browser favourites for next time.
Both the warning card and the e-Alert are designed to take the minimum amount of time to complete and we would encourage everyone to use them.
This two page form (CARIS form) contains all the additional details on mother and baby needed to make a complete registration. It is normally completed after the end of pregnancy and there is reasonable evidence of at least one anomaly. The form comes in a pack with instructions. It does take a little time to complete and requires information from both maternity and paediatric notes. These should be available on delivery suites and Special Care Baby Units.
Warning cards can be used to let CARIS know about results of an anomaly scan or other scans or concerns in the antenatal period. This gives CARIS early notification of potential cases to follow-up. Warning cards can also be used in any setting postnatally to report the discovery of an anomaly. Efforts are made to ensure that cards are available on wards and for clinics, should they be needed. If you need more cards please contact your local co-ordinator or the CARIS office.
CARIS recognises that clinical staff are sometimes under great pressure and that the first priority is the patient. However, we would encourage units and departments to put systems in place so that reporting to CARIS is not completely forgotten. CARIS staff can offer support to units to facilitate data collection. If you need some help, call the CARIS office.
Each unit has a dedicated co-ordinator who is available to provide local help and encouragement to report cases. The local co-ordinator will have a supply of cards and forms available. If you want to find out who you local co-ordinator is please click here. They can also help retrieve notes to record the best data about mother and baby.
All units have an obstetrician and paediatrician with a particular interest in congenital anomalies. They have kindly agreed to act as local champions for CARIS, keeping the profile of the register high in the unit. They are also available to help resolve problems and make sure a workable system is in place, if there are difficulties with reporting.
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