Child Death Overview (CDOP)
Working Together 2023 details when a child dies, in any circumstances, it is important for parents and families to understand what has happened and whether there are any lessons to be learnt.
The responsibility for ensuring child death reviews are carried out, is held by ‘child death review partners’; who in relation to a local authority area in England, are defined as the local authority for that area and any ICBs operating in the local authority area.
Child death review partners must make arrangements to review all deaths of children normally resident in the local area and as indicated, of any non-resident children who have died in their area. This should be done via a Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP).
Child death review partners, for two or more local authority areas, may combine and agree that their areas be treated as a single area, for the purpose of undertaking child death reviews.
Child death review partners must make arrangements for the analysis of information from all deaths reviewed by the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD).
The purpose of a review and/or analysis, is to identify any matters relating to the death, or deaths, that are relevant to the welfare of children in the area, or to public health and safety and to consider whether action should be taken, in relation to any matters identified. If child death review partners find action should be taken by a person or organisation, they must inform them. In addition, child death review partners:
• must, at such times as they consider appropriate, prepare, and publish reports
on:
- what they have done as a result of the child death review arrangements in their area
- how effective the arrangements have been in practice
• may request information from a person or organisation to enable or assist the review and/or analysis process. The person or organisation must comply with the request, and if they do not, the child death review partners may take legal action to seek enforcement.
• may make payments directly towards expenditure incurred in connection with arrangements made for child death reviews or analysis of information about deaths reviewed, or by contributing to a fund out of which payments may be made. They may provide staff, goods, services, accommodation, or other resources to any person for purposes connected with the child death review or analysis process
Key documents:
Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (Merseyside Joint Agency Protocol)
Acute Life Threatening Event (Merseyside Joint Agency Protocol)
What we have to do when a child dies: Information for parents, families and carers
Reporting a child death:
Please remember it is a statutory requirement to notify CDOP of all child deaths from birth up to their 18th birthday. If there are a number of agencies involved, liaison should take place to agree which agency will submit the Notification. However, unless you know someone else has done so, please notify CDOP with as much information as possible.
To report the death of a child resident in St Helens please complete Form A: Notification of a child death within 24 hours;
If you have any problems with submitting a notification via the above link please contact 0151 2331151 or email CDOPTeam@liverpool.gov.uk
Further Information:
https://liverpool.gov.uk/births-marriage-deaths/deaths/child-deaths/
Merseyside and the Isle of Man Child Death Overview Panel (Annual Report 2022 - 2023)
Safeguarding Child Partnerships: Child Death Reviews