New tools needed to help prevent sudden unexpected death of infants
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel publishes review
The government needs to develop new tools to help prevent the sudden unexpected death of infants (SUDI), says a new review by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
The independent panel of experts has reviewed serious child safeguarding incidents, when children have died or suffered serious harm, to learn how to improve the safeguarding system. While the overall numbers of babies dying from SUDI are decreasing, a worrying number of deaths have been notified to the panel as serious child safeguarding incidents. Between June 2018 and August 2019, the deaths of 40 babies from SUDI were reported to the panel. Most of whom died after co-sleeping in bed or on a chair or sofa, often with parents who had consumed drugs or alcohol.
The review reveals families with babies at risk of dying in this way are often struggling with several issues, such as domestic violence, poor mental health or unsuitable housing. It found that these deaths often occur when families experience disruption to their normal routines and so are unable to engage effectively with safer sleeping advice.
Due to coronavirus (Covid-19) and the associated anxieties about money, social isolation and mental health issues, disruptions that led to the deaths of these infants may be more prominent at present. To address this, the panel is calling for local areas to reduce the risk of SUDI by incorporating it into wider strategies for responding to social and economic deprivation, domestic violence and parental mental health concerns. This should be backed up by new government tools and processes to support frontline practitioners and local safeguarding partners to make these changes.
The review examines the deaths of fourteen babies from twelve local areas to understand how professionals can best support parents to ensure that safer sleep advice is heard and embedded.
The findings show that:
- Families living within a context of recognised background risks, such as deprivation and overcrowding, domestic violence or poor mental health, are at heightened risk of losing a baby to SUDI – all those working with families need to recognise that and work together – this is not just an issue for midwives and health visitors.
- A flexible and tailored approach to prevention is needed that is responsive to the reality of people's lives – that means talking honestly with parents about how they will cope in different situations to ensure every sleep is safe.
- The best local arrangements for promoting safer sleeping involve a range of professionals as part of a relationship-based programme of support, embedded in wider initiatives to promote infant safety, health and wellbeing.
- A prevent and protect practice model should be locally adopted to recognise the continuum of risk of SUDI, with support and interventions that are graded to reflect the needs of different families.
For the review, click here. For the response of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, click here.
19/7/20