Beth Allison's birth - at three minutes past midnight on Tuesday - has made medical history.

Beth, who was born at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, became the first baby in the country to be given an NHS "lifelong" identification number.

The nine-digit reference number is the key to Beth's clinical history and a record of every visit she makes to her doctor, every vaccination she receives and every illness she contracts.

Parents Caroline and Robert, from Newcastle, are both nurses and know their 7lb 15oz baby marks the start of an initiative that will change the way health records are compiled.

Launched at maternity and child health units across England and Wales, the scheme, called NHS Numbers for Babies, is to reduce the risk of mistakes and lost records during the first few months of a baby's life.

Until the birth of Beth, babies have had to wait for their registration number to be processed through the registrar of births and deaths, which could take several weeks.

During that time the child may have undergone tests and treatment in different locations, had their name changed or moved address.

The new system gives each baby a unique number ensuring that personal records are consistent and available to NHS staff from the day of birth.