Child Death Review Programme

The aim of the programme is to learn from common factors contributing to child deaths in order to reduce preventable child deaths in Wales.

 The objectives of the programme are to:

• ascertain and collate data on child deaths in Wales and deaths of children who are normally resident in Wales
• undertake surveillance of child deaths including the identification of and description of patterns and causes of child death, including any trends
• identify modifiable factors that may be contributing to child deaths in Wales
• identify opportunities for prevention of future child deaths
• share the findings to inform action

The programme covers deaths of children who are live born, where the death occurred after 1 October 2009 and before the child’s 18th birthday and where the child is either normally resident in Wales or dies within Wales.

This includes children who are under local authority care and placed outside of Wales; or those who may temporarily reside outside of Wales for healthcare or education purposes.

Information for parents, families and carers?

The information collected by CDRP is anonymised to review what happened and to see what can be learned to prevent the same thing happening to another child or young person.
Reviews are not investigations, they do not look at who might be at fault or who is to blame for individual deaths, they focus on improvements for the future. It is not possible for families and carers to attend review meetings. The CDRP receives information from professionals, however if families and carers wish particular information to be considered they can contact the CDRP. The CDRP does not report on individual cases. CDRP reports consider common themes, contain only anonymised information and discuss opportunities for prevention of future deaths.

We hope that everyone will want to be included to help us prevent future deaths, but your child’s information can be removed at any time if you wish. Please email or write to the Child Death Review Programme team at the email address or postal address below.

Who's Who

Contact Us

Child Death Review Team
Public Health Wales
1st Floor 
Matrix House
Northern Boulevard
Swansea Enterprise Park
Swansea
SA6 8DP

E-mail: ChildDeath.Review@wales.nhs.uk 
Telephone: 01792 940939

To notify us of a child death, please use the notification of child death form. 

Publications

Annual Reports

• Child Deaths in Wales Patterns and Trends Report 2016
• Child Death Review Programme Annual Report July 2015
• Child Death Review Programme Annual Report September 2014
• Child Death Review Programme Annual Report July 2013

Thematic Reviews

• Thematic review of deaths of children and young people through probable suicide (2013-2017) – Main report
• Thematic review of deaths of children and young people through probable suicide (2013-2017) – Summary
• Research Evidence Review - Deaths of children and young people through probable suicide
• Thematic review of deaths of children through fire - Summary Document
• Thematic review of deaths of children through fire - Technical Document
• Thematic review of deaths of children and young people through drowning
• Research Evidence Review – Drowning in children & young people
• Thematic Panel Membership for review of deaths of children and young people through drowning (Declarations of Interest)
• Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy: A collaborative thematic review 2010-2012
• Research Evidence Review – Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy
• Thematic Review of Deaths of Children and Young People through Probable Suicide, 2006-2012
• CDR Research Evidence Review – Deaths of Children through Suicide
• Thematic Review of Deaths in Teenagers in Motor Vehicles
• Evidence Review - Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent Deaths of Teenagers Aged 13 to 17 Years in Motor Vehicles
• Evidence Summary Tables - Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent Deaths of Teenagers Aged 13 to 17 Years in Motor Vehicles
• Stakeholder Events Evaluation & Comments 
• Progress Against Recommendations from the Thematic Review of the Child Death Review Programme 2013

Rapid Reviews/Responses

• Rapid Response on Deaths of Children from Meningitis and Meningococcal Disease
• Rapid Review: Deaths of Children from Dog Bites/Strikes 
• Summary of Report