Sudden death in childhood (SUDIC)

The death of a child is a devastating experience. We know that the deaths of some children are both sudden and unexpected. Some are sudden but sadly not unexpected. We know that nothing can ease your loss, but where reasons are not clear; we will make every effort to establish why your child died and ensure that we learn from each family’s loss.

What we offer

We are a community based team, including sudden unexpected death in childhood (SUDIC) paediatricians, SUDIC lead nurses, and a SUDIC administrator. We facilitate the actions required following the sudden unexpected death of a child up to their 18th birthday.

The team work closely with the Emergency department, Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, HM Coroner and other relevant agencies including Children’s Social Work Services. The professionals who are in contact with you around the time of your child’s death will need to ask you about what happened. This will usually be a doctor in the Emergency department, and  a senior police officer. This is to enable them to provide information to the coroner. The SUDIC team will be working in partnership with the relevant professionals with the aim of understanding the cause of your child’s death. We will use the information to improve our support for you and your family.

If your child has died suddenly and unexpectedly, you may be contacted by us to arrange a home visit. The purpose of this visit is to gather further information which could be relevant to the death of your child. The SUDIC team members will provide you with their contact details and you may contact them as you require. They can also provide you with information about support services for yourselves and other family members. We also provide referrals and signposting to bereavement support services.

If you are reading this as a parent or family member of a child who has died, then it is important for you to be aware that some information regarding what happened to your child, and the circumstances and events leading up to your child’s death, will be shared with other professionals. This is called the Joint Agency Review (JAR) Meeting and it is held following the death of any child resident in Leeds. Discussions at the JAR may also include information about other family members. This information is highly confidential and will only be shared with those who need to know. The information we share outside the SUDIC process is anonymous. Your co-operation in this process is gratefully received.

Should you need more information about the process, please do not hesitate to contact the SUDIC team.