Updates to notification, reporting and care pathway forms

by | Mar 31, 2022

In April 2022, the NCMD made a number of updates to the format of three forms used in the child death review process: the notification form, the reporting form and the care pathways form. The changes streamline the forms, making them easier for professionals to complete, and also add new prompts to collect more detailed information.

Here you can find out exactly what changes were made and why.

Updates to the Notification Form

  1. The wording of the alert question has changed slightly. You no longer need to use the alert function to advise us about deaths due to Covid. This information is now collected elsewhere.
  2. We have added an additional option for instances where the child does not have an NHS number. You can now select either “Child non-resident in England” or “NHS number not currently available”.
  3. We have added a validation rule on the NHS number field to prompt you if you enter an invalid NHS number.

Updates to Reporting Forms

  1. Maternal BMI has been moved from the supplementary reporting form on chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies to the core reporting form. It now appears in the Child’s section underneath the question on gravidity and parity.
  2. Fields to record the child’s height and weight have been added.
  3. Two new questions have been added to the service provision section as follows:
    “Was bereavement support offered to the family?” Yes/No
    If yes is selected to the question above, the following question is triggered:
    “If yes, what support was offered?” Free text field
  1. For deaths on a delivery suite / labour ward or neonatal unit. If the baby dies due to infection, neonatal herpes has been added to the list of options to select.

Updates to Care Pathway Form

  • The care pathway form has been moved to the supplementary reporting form section of the system.
  • You can now select the separate stages of the care pathway form and send them to individuals to complete.
  • If the child has experienced any of the stages in relation to their final illness or event then the relevant section(s) should be completed.
  • Not all stages will be relevant for every case.

We hope that these changes will make child death reviews easier and more straightforward, and also lead to the generation of additional insight to improve and save children’s lives. If you have any questions, please contact us on ncmd-programme@bristol.ac.uk.

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