Background
“Government should establish an independent body at national level to oversee a new national learning framework for inquiries into child deaths” Wood Report, 2016
This section explains the history of the National Child Mortality Database programme, starting with the instigation of the Child Death Review (CDR) process in England, 2008-10. It explains the changes that then took place – including the publication of a key report, the Wood Report in 2016, which led to NCMD being established in 2018.
This section also provides links to relevant documents for those who wish to access further relevant resources.
See also, our Frequently Asked Questions.
2008: Need for Child Death Review (CDR) process identified
Professor Fleming identified that in both of these cases, and others, all of the information needed to explain what had happened was obtained within three months of the deaths of their children, but it needed a multi-agency perspective to understand the significance of the information held. Following this it was identified that there was a need to review the deaths of all children to identify what can be learned, to improve the lives of young people and their families and to ensure that no further miscarriages of justice occurred.