Context
The sudden, unexpected death of an infant or child is a devastating event for the family and those involved in caring for the child in any capacity. A proportion of these deaths will arise due to previously unrecognised medical conditions, or as the result of an incident intentional or otherwise, but a significant number are unexplained. The families should be cared for with empathy and compassion and should be clearly communicated with as to processes and procedures that will subsequently need to take place.
In England, it has been a legal requirement for all unexpected childhood deaths to be jointly investigated by Healthcare, Police and Childrens Social Care Services1 in the form of Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs). We will briefly explore what this entails, along with what our role is as Emergency Medicine clinicians.
Studies show that a significant proportion of sudden unexpected deaths in infant and children are associated with adverse environmental conditions2. Many of the recognised risk factors overlap with those for child abuse and neglect, and it is therefore not surprising that these tragic deaths occur predominantly in families of low socio-economic status (SES). We will cover this in further detail along the course of the module, along with our role in promoting behaviours such as safe sleep and smoking cessation to parents and carers we encounter in the Emergency Department.