Many thanks to everyone who attended our dissemination event to share insights from our second annual report, which took place on 22 June 2021 – an unprecedented 335 people from across the sector joined the event.

Featuring a presentation by NCMD’s Programme, Professor Karen Luyt, this event highlighted the key findings from the report – which is based on data for children who died in England between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 and offers insights into the characteristics of children who died, and the modifiable factors identified by Child Death Overview Panels when their deaths were reviewed. These factors enable us to identify key areas for improvement across all services.

Key points covered in the online event included:

  • Most deaths occurred before the age of one (63%) and, of these – where gestational age at birth was known – 69% were born preterm (before 37 weeks).
  • 42% of all children who died were under 28 days old, prompting a recommendation to reduce the number of preterm births and improve outcomes after preterm delivery.
  • 78%, of deaths had ethnicity recorded. 62% were from a White ethnic group, 19% were from an Asian or Asian British background, 9% were from a Black or Black British background, and 7% were from a Mixed background.
  • The majority of child deaths (78%) occur in hospitals with 22% occurring in the community.
  • There were approximately three times as many deaths for children who were resident in the most deprived neighbourhoods compared to the least deprived neighbourhoods

NCMD second annual report: The report can be read in full here.

Listen again: A recording of this event is available by using this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/gCg9rk6674pq64uvq3SkIVUHaJaa7Dq0PVKEw940A2Fg56MbNbWVCb81iZr0xt9J.HrOpG7Nic8cpGWIS (zoom recording).

Presentation slides: The slides from Professor Luyt’s presentation can also be downloaded from here.