• Rapid Response to unexpected child deaths
• Child Death Overview Panel

Rapid Response to Unexpected Child Deaths

The purpose of this process is to ensure an early multi-agency response to all unexpected deaths of children in order to:

• understand the reasons for the child's death;
• address the possible needs of other children in the household and of all family members;
• identify those deaths that may be as a result of abuse or neglect and ensure an appropriate response;
• consider any lessons to be learned about how best to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the future including consideration of any wider public health implications.

For the purposes of this procedure 'unexpected deaths' of children and young people are defined as " the death of a child that was not anticipated as a significant possibility for example 24hrs before the death, or where there was a similarly unexpected collapse or incident leading to or precipitating the events which led to the death."

Related Documents:

 Child Death - Rapid Response Procedure [109kb]

 Initial Case Discussion Meeting Agenda [1Mb]

 Final Case Discussion Meeting Agenda [1Mb]

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Child Death Overview Panel

The purpose of the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) is to ensure that through a process of multidisciplinary review of child deaths, NCSCB will better understand how and why children in our local authority area die.

The CDOP primary functions are:

• to review all deaths of children normally resident within Nottingham City;
• to overview deaths of children not normally resident in Nottingham City but who die within the City boundary;
• to quality assure the Rapid Response Process in relation to unexpected deaths of children;
• to identify preventable deaths, where modifiable factors may have contributed to the death.

All information considered by the CDOP is anonymised.  

Parents and family members should be informed that their Child's death will be reviewed and will be provided with literature that explains the review process. Parents and family members should be assured that the objective of the review process is to learn lessons in order to improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of children, and ultimately to prevent future child deaths.

Related Documents:

 Child Death Overview Panel Procedure [1Mb]

 Form A - Notification of Child Death [1Mb]

 Form B - Agency Report Form [1Mb]

 Form C - Analysis Proforma [1Mb]

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