Agenda item

Dr Nicola Lang (Director of Public Health) introduced the item. Chris Miller (Chair of the North West London Child Death Overview Panel) then gave a presentation summarising the findings and learning from the cases the North West London Child Death Overview Panel reviewed in Hammersmith and Fulham and North West London in 2023-24.

Chris Miller explained that the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) was a statutory entity, comprised of professionals who reviewed all child deaths to identify potential preventable factors and improve child health, safety, and well-being. The panel aimed to learn from these deaths to prevent future occurrences and ensure all children received the best possible care.

Chris Miller noted that there were around 140 child deaths a year in North West London, with the majority being those aged under 28 days due to perinatal or neonatal events, or chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom asked about the common factors across deaths and if there was anything that could be done through research and development and commissioning to help mitigate them.

Chris Miller said it was a complex picture but there were some key areas such as whether the mother was vaccinated, whether there was mould and damp in the home, whether there was domestic abuse or neglect and on a safeguarding pathway, and whether overweight mothers were on an aspirin pathway. Chris Miller felt that intensive work with communities in Lower Layer Super Output Areas could make a real difference. He highlighted the Pimlico Community Health Workers project which placed community nursing assistants in communities to act as a bridge between health workers and residents. They visited people in their homes and could support people proactively when needed. The project had reduced instances of strokes, heart attacks, and emergency service attendance. He said the Panel were interested in working with them.

Councillor Rowbottom said her other role was as H&F Industrial Strategy Ambassador and she wanted to use the research and development engine in the borough to improve local people’s lives. Chris Miller said he was interested in having a longer conversation about the opportunities in this area.

ACTION: Councillor Rowbottom to discuss opportunities with Chris Miller

Councillor Natalia Perez referred to the recommendation around interpreting services and asked how the implementation of recommendations to other organisations was tracked and followed up. Chris Miller said recommendations were acted on – in the case of interpreters, NHS Trusts were well aware of the issue and had put a range of measures in place but in emergencies medical professionals sometimes had to rely on translations from friends or family.

Sue Spiller (Chief Executive Officer, SOBUS) asked if there was data showing cause of death broken down by ethnicity that could be used to inform preventative information and guidance. Chris Miller said that information was available, though he noted that ethnicity data was often not specific enough for very targeted information campaigns.

Anna Carpenter (Head of Safeguarding) noted that themes from the Panel were fed through to the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership which led to awareness campaigns around the relevant child safety issues.

The Chair thanked Chris Miller, officers, and members of the Board for their contributions.

RESOLVED

1. That the Health and Wellbeing Board noted the findings of the North West London CDOP 2023-24 report.