About CARIS - Reporting to CARIS
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: [email protected]. 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.
e-Alert
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.
CARIS Data forms
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
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.
Support
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.
CARIS co-ordinators
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. They can also help retrieve notes to record the best data about mother and baby.
| Hospital / Health Board area | CARIS Co-ordinator |
|---|---|
| ANS Wales | Kindry Williams (ANS Wales) |
| Bronglais Hospital | TBC |
| Neath Port Talbot/ Princess of Wales Hospital | Elaine Griffiths (Midwife) |
| Dawn Apsee (Midwife) | |
| Nevill Hall Hospital | TBC |
| Powys HB | Carys Griffiths (Midwife) |
| Rachel Bartley (Midwife) | |
| Ceri Jones – Newtown (Midwife) | |
| Prince Charles Hospital | Nicola Ralph (ANS Co Ord. & Governance Lead) |
| Royal Glamorgan Hospital | Nicola Ralph (ANS Co Ord. & Governance Lead) |
| Royal Gwent Hospital | Sam Wood (Midwife) |
| Singleton Hospital | Samantha Fisher – Senior Registration Officer CARIS |
| Saranne Davies – Data Officer – CARIS | |
| Katie Donovan (Midwife) | |
| UHW Cardiff / FMU / Llandough Hospital | Jayne Frank (FMU) |
| Jackie Cartlidge (FMU) | |
| West Wales General Hospital | Anya Evans (Midwife) |
| Withybush Hospital | Amanda Taylor / Camilla Cooke (Midwives) |
| Wrexham Maelor Hospital | Cathy Hughes ANS Midwife |
| Cwm Taf HB | Dee Scott (Midwife) |
| Joelene Hoskins (Midwife) | |
| Ysbyty Glan Clwyd | Maria Russell (Midwife) |
| Ysbyty Gwynedd | Jackie Stockton (Midwife) |
CARIS champions
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.
| Hospital/Area | CARIS Lead in Obstetrics | CARIS Lead in Paediatrics |
|---|---|---|
| Bronglais | Dr Angela Hamon | John Williams |
| Neath Port Talbot/ Princess of Wales | Sushama Hemmadi | Katherine Creese |
| Nevill Hall | Delyth Rich | Tom Williams |
| Powys | (Not applicable) | To be confirmed |
| Prince Charles | Jonathan Rogers | David Deekollu |
| Royal Glamorgan | Jonathan Pembridge | Jay Natarajan |
| Royal Gwent | Anju Kumar | Sarmistha Maity |
| Singleton | Marsham Moselhi | Geraint Morris |
| UHW / Llandough | Christine Connor | Jenny Calvert |
| West Wales General | Roopam Goel | Gwyneth Oweb |
| Withybush | Chris Overton | Devasettihalli Appana |
| Wrexham Maelor | Bid Kumar | Paveen Jauhai |
| Ysbyty Glan Clwyd | Maggie Armstrong | Ian Barnard |
| Ysbyty Gwynedd | David Gatongi | Mair Parry |
Data sources that report to CARIS
| Obstetricians | Paediatricians |
| Midwives | Ultrasonography |
| Special care baby units | Welsh neonatal screening unit |
| Welsh cytogenetics unit | Paediatric pathology |
| NCARDRS | National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service |
| Regional paediatric cardiology | Medical Genetics |
| Community services | Maxillo- facial surgery |
| Serum Screening | Health Visiting Service |
| Paediatric Orthopaedics | Audiology |
| Ophthalmology | Molecular genetics |
| National child health system | Hospital inpatient data |
| UHW FMU | University Hospital of Wales, Fetal Medicine Unit |
Page last reviewed: 16th April 2026