What happens when a child dies? 

If a child dies suddenly or unexpectedly, a Joint Agency Response (JAR) meeting is held and includes representation from key agencies. 

A Child Death Review Meeting (CDRM) takes place once all the information surrounding the death has been collected for all child who have died.  

Bereaved families can raise any issues with the allocated key worker or with the Lead Nurse for child death reviews, so that their voices can be heard at the CDRM. Families can also be offered a follow-up meeting to receive feedback of what was discussed.  

Child Death Overview Panel

All child deaths are further reviewed at the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP).  

The CDOP is a group of independent professionals and leaders from health, police and children’s social care who have a statutory responsibility to review all deaths of children from birth, up to the age of 18, who live in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. 

What is the purpose of the panel 

The purpose of the panel is to:

• review all the information available to understand why the child died, identify any improvements that can be made in agency response.
• learn from the deaths of children to help identify ways of preventing future deaths.
• identify any improvements that can be made in the services provided to children and their families.
• address the needs and welfare of any other children living in the household and the parents.
• improve the experience of bereaved families and support professionals to care for families effectively.
• have the CDOP share information with the National Child Mortality Database to assist in building a national picture of child deaths across the country

Contacting the CDOP

The Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge CDOP can be contacted at email BHR.CDOP@nhs.net