Death of a child
Children under 18
If you have any questions about the review you can contact :
CDOP Officer / Administrator Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group Jubilee House 5510 John Smith Drive Oxford Business Park South Oxford OX4 2LH
Tel : 0300 5611868
OCCG . cdopoxfordshire @ nhs . net
www . oscb . org . uk
The death of any child is a tragedy . It is vital that all child deaths are carefully reviewed . This is so that we may learn as much as possible from them , to try to prevent future deaths , and to support families .
If your child had a long-term illness or life-limiting condition , and death was anticipated or inevitable , it is likely that your family and the team supporting you will have made an appropriate ‘ care pathway ’ together . This might include an end-of-life care plan for your child .
Local healthcare staff or others such as hospice or hospital staff should work with you and your family to support you . It may be necessary for the Coroner to arrange a post mortem examination . Otherwise , you should be able to register your child ’ s death quickly and proceed with your family ’ s planned funeral and memorial arrangements .
An unexpected death is often sudden . Unexpected means not expected in the 24 hours before the death or before the event that led to the death . The death may have no obvious cause , such as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy ( SUDI ) or the cause might be clear , such as an accident .
The law requires that all sudden and unexpected deaths be reported to the Coroner and the police . A joint agency process will begin . This is a statutory process designed to coordinate an appropriate response and identify a single point of contact for the family ( a keyworker ). For both expected and unexpected deaths , doctors , nurses and others involved with your child will talk to each other to establish the facts about why your child died . They should also offer support to you . They will consider how the procedures at the time of death and afterwards were managed .
You may not get feedback from each and every one of these discussions , but you can get advice from the keyworker . This keyworker may need to clarify and seek information but will ensure you get the appropriate support and advice .
Child Death Reviews
It is vital that all deaths of children are carefully reviewed by a Child Death Overview Panel on behalf of the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership . The Child Death Overview Panels are groups of professionals who meet several times a year to review all deaths of children who are resident in their area , even if the death occurs in another area . The main purpose is to learn how to try to prevent future deaths .
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The Panels make recommendations and report on the lessons learned to the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership . The Board produces an annual report which is a public document . Anyone can read the report , but it contains no details that could identify an individual child or their family .
ADVICE AND HELPLINE :
0345 241 2489