Jack Bratt, weighing 3kg (about 6½lb), was born to Melissa Owen and Rob Bratt in the early hours yesterday in Stoke-on-Trent.

Within minutes of the birth, a midwife had registered Jack on a new NHS computer system and issued him with a unique number that he will keep for the rest of his life.

The scheme seems ominously reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World but it is a minor change: all citizens already have an NHS number.

The difference is that babies were previously issued with their number up to six weeks after birth. The new system ensures that Jack’s personal medical record starts from the moment of birth. The aim of the scheme is to provide an extra safeguard in a baby’s care during the first weeks of life.

Under the old system, Jack would have had to wait until civil registration, when he would be up to six weeks old, before his NHS number was issued. In that time, records of any medical care he received were more likely to go astray without a number to keep track of them.

An NHS number allows doctors to access up-to-date medical records. The NHS Numbers for Babies scheme is the result of a four-year project carried out under the aegis of the NHS Information Authority. A spokesman for the scheme said: “Thanks to the new system, baby Jack’s NHS record will be available from day one to healthcare professionals wherever and whenever it might be needed.”

The numbers, which are 11 digits long, are generated by a computer system and printed on birth notification notices produced by each maternity unit. The numbers are also passed to the Registrar of Births and Deaths.