Abstract
Aim
New national procedures for responding to the
unexpected death of a child in England require a joint agency approach to investigate each death and support the bereaved family. As part of a wider population-based study of sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) we evaluated the implementation of this approach.
Methods
A process evaluation was carried out using a population-based study of all unexpected deaths
from birth to 2 years in the South West of England
between January 2003 and December 2006. Local
police and health professionals followed a standardised approach to the investigation of each death, supported by the research team set up to facilitate this joint approach as well as collect data for a wider research project.
Results
We were notifi ed of 155/157 SUDI, with a median time to notifi cation of 2 h. Initial multi-agency
discussions took place in 93.5% of cases. A joint home visit by police offi cers with health professionals was carried out in 117 cases, 75% within 24 h of the death. Time to notifi cation and interview reduced during the 4 years of the study. Autopsies were conducted on all cases, the median time to autopsy being 3 days. At the conclusion of the investigation, a local multi-agency case discussion was held in 88% of cases. The median time for the whole process (including family support) was 5 months.
Conclusions
This study has demonstrated that with appropriate protocols and support, the joint agency approach to the investigation of unexpected infant deaths can be successfully implemented.
Translated title of the contribution | Responding to Unexpected Infant Deaths: Experience in One English Region |
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Original language | English |
Pages (from-to) | 291 - 295 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Archives of Disease in Childhood |
Volume | 95(4) |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2010 |