Cleft Lip and Palate Care in the United Kingdom—The Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) Study. Part 1: Background and Methodology

OBJECTIVE: To review the history of cleft care in the United Kingdom and the rationale and methodology of a national study. DESIGN: Descriptive overview to introduce this series of papers. SETTING: Fifty National Health Service cleft teams. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Two age cohorts, 5-year-olds and 12-year-olds, with nonsyndromic complete unilateral cleft lip and palate and their parents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Facial development and appearance, quality of bone grafts, speech, oral health and patient/parent satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The case for a national assessment of cleft care is made. The methodology of the cross-sectional outcome study is described, together with a survey of training for recently appointed clinicians.