Child Death Review
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 defines child death review partners as “local authorities and any ICB for the local area as set out in the Children Act 2004 (the Act), as amended by the Children and Social Work Act 2017”.
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 learned. The responsibility for ensuring child death reviews are carried out is held by ‘child death review partners,’ as defined within Working Together 2023 and set out in current legislation. Child death review partners must make arrangements to review all deaths of children normally resident in the local area and, if they consider it appropriate, for any non-resident child who has died in their area. 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 in Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Dorset and Somerset now treat Pan Dorset and Somerset as a single area, resulting in a joint Pan Dorset and Somerset Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) undertaking child death reviews for Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Dorset and Somerset children. The new arrangement came into force in July 2019.
The accountable officials for the Child Death Review partners in Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Dorset and Somerset are as follows:
| Name of Accountable Officer | Organisation |
|---|---|
| Jonathan Higman, Chief Executive | Somerset ICB |
| Duncan Sharkey, Chief Executive | Somerset Council |
| Tim Goodson, Accountable Chief Officer | Dorset ICB |
| Graham Farrant, Chief Executive | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council |
| Matt Prosser, Chief Executive | Dorset County Council |
Executive officers for all Child Death Review Partner agencies, with delegated authority from the accountable officers listed above, have signed the Memorandum of Understanding and approved the CDOP Terms of Reference.
The Designated Doctors for child death in Dorset and Somerset ICB are as follows:
| Name of Designated Doctor Child Death | Organisation |
|---|---|
| Dr Thomasina Nicole | Somerset ICB |
| Dr Christopher Knight | Somerset ICB |
| Dr Nicola Johnson | Somerset ICB |
| Dr Wendy D’Arrigo | Dorset ICB |
| Dr Ann Dewar | Dorset ICB |
Notification of a child death
Any agency becoming aware of a child death occurring in Somerset, or a death of a normally resident Somerset child occurring elsewhere, should make a notification using the eCDOP website: https://www.ecdop.co.uk/PANDorsetSomerset/Live/Public
For any further information about the child death review process, please contact us at:
somicb.somersetchildeath@nhs.net
