Issue - meetings

The Board is asked to note the Greater Manchester Child Death Overview Panel  Annual Report, which includes the work undertaken by the Bury, Oldham and Rochdale Panel, and consider an overview of the implications identified for Oldham.

The Board received a report presenting the Greater Manchester (GM) Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) Annual Report, which included the work undertaken by the Bury, Oldham and Rochdale Panel.  The Annual Report presented data from the four CDOPs across GM, making observations about causes and modifiable factors in order to inform action to promote child safety and reduce child deaths in GM.  An Oldham Briefing provided an overview of the implications for Oldham and the current work happening to address the potentially modifiable factors identified.

Wendy Meston, Public Health Consultant from Rochdale Council and current Chair of the Bury, Oldham and Rochdale CDOP, reported to the Board further to the submitted report.  Public Health chaired all four CDOPs across GM which collectively operated as a network.  A multi-agency approach was adopted, and Panel attendees represented professional areas as opposed to geographical areas.  Not every child death in the year was considered, with only those deaths that had been considered through all other stages being reviewed.  As such, the Annual Report presented a strategic overview of what had been learned over the previous year. 

With regard to Oldham, infant mortality was higher than would be expected and, while work had been undertaken to address causal factors, more needed to be done in the area.  The GM report had highlighted potentially modifiable factors for reducing deaths in children as well as the existing evidence around reducing deaths in the early weeks of life, and several current initiatives in Oldham aimed at addressing these factors were outlined in the submitted report.

The CDOP network and co-ordinators also played a role in preventative work and had, for example, undertaken work around safe sleeping and getting messages out about the dangers for children presented by cords/blinds and small batteries.

Members of the Board raised the following issues –

·         The average Index of Multiple Deprivation score against the number of closed cases for each local authority as shown in Chart 6 at paragraph 6.10.3 of the Annual Report and what this meant in terms of Oldham and the linkage of deaths to deprivation was queried.  It was suggested that a five-year consideration be given to consider whether the 2018/19 figure was a one year issue.

·         It was noted that smoking and maternal BMI (body mass index) were significant contributors to young infant mortality and the potential impact on that cohort of an increased universal health offer being considered was queried.  It was suggested that weight would be included, but that smoking in pregnancy was the subject of an ongoing GM-wide approach, though the sustainability of the GM offer needed to be considered.

RESOLVED that -

1.            the Child Death Overview Panel Annual Report 2018-19 for Greater Manchester be noted;

2.            the Oldham Briefing on implications for Oldham and current work being undertaken locally be noted;

3.            further work be undertaken to understand the higher rates of infant mortality in the Borough and to develop an action plan to address these issues.

To provide Health and Wellbeing Board with an overview of the Bury, Rochdale and Oldham Child Death Overview Panel Statutory Responsibilities, including revised governance arrangements, and an outline of the Child Death Arrangements Implementation Plan.

The Board received a report providing an overview of the statutory responsibilities of the Bury, Rochdale and Oldham Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), including revised governance arrangements and an outline of the Child Death Arrangements Implementation Plan.

The Bury, Rochdale and Oldham CDOP had been set up by Child Death Review Partners, the Bury, Oldham and Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale CCG’s and Bury, Oldham and Rochdale Councils, to review the deaths of children under the requirement of the Children Act 2004 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 statutory guidance. The purpose of the CDOP is to undertake a review of all child deaths up to the age of 18 living within the covered areas, irrespective of the place of death.

The Board was informed that the CDOP was accountable to the Health and Wellbeing Boards in Rochdale, Oldham and Bury and that the function was no longer under the Department for Education. The Annual Report of the CDOP was due to be considered at the next meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board at which further detail could also be considered. It was noted that the Panel was chaired by a Consultant in Public Health with the position rotating between the three Public Health Teams every two years, with Oldham next to Chair the Panel.

Further to a particular issue that Healthwatch were to discuss with Public Health outside the meeting and in response to a query, the Board was informed that all child deaths, including suicides fell under the remit of the CDOP, though babies who were stillborn and lawful planned terminations of pregnancy were excepted.

RESOLVED that the statutory responsibilities of the Child Death Overview Panel, the changes to governance and the transfer of accountability for the Panel to the Health and Wellbeing Boards in Bury, Rochdale and Oldham be noted.