Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps taking to improve care for families affected by sudden, unexpected child death.

It is priority to ensure parents and families have access to readily available information when their child dies. NHS England are in the process of reviewing content drafted by patient groups and confirming processes for updating the NHS.UK website to include relevant information relating to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC), with a view to have updates published in the coming months.

NHS England also still intend to update the ‘When A Child Dies’ leaflet over the next year in collaboration with affected families, parents and carers, as well as National Child Mortality Database colleagues and SUDC charities, including SUDC UK and relevant professional groups.

The Department will hold a roundtable later this year which will likely focus on professional awareness and training opportunities, seeking to improve confidence in understanding and responding to SUDC.