What is the Child Death Review process?

What is the Child Death Review process?

It is important that there is a review of every child’s death to learn as much as possible. This review is designed to support you and other members of your family in understanding why your child died. It will also try to prevent other children dying from the same cause. There are some elements that take place for every child death, and some that may not be needed depending on the circumstances. Sometimes, other reviews are also undertaken alongside the Child Death Review.

The Child Death Review process is split into four stages:

• Immediate response - sharing information between relevant organisations about the circumstances of your child’s death, safeguarding and supporting bereaved families • Information gathering - this may be in the form of a multi-agency meeting and/or information sharing to have a full understanding of the circumstances of the child’s death, including the outcome of any relevant local investigations, and post mortem reports. • Child Death Review Meeting—a multiagency meeting of professionals known to the child and family to undertake a local review to identify local learning and review the support available to the child’s family. • Child Death Overview Panel—a regional anonymised review of the case to identify trends, themes, and learning for child deaths across a specific geographical region.

Your key worker will be able to tell you about what is happening in relation to your child. For more information about the Child Death Review Process please ask your key worker for a copy of the NHS England leaflet ‘When A Child Dies’.