Wiley Unexpected Death in Childhood: A Handbook for Practitioners: 16 (Wiley Child Protection & Policy Series)

For families who have experienced the death of a child, their private tragedy is all too often exacerbated by an inappropriate or incompetent professional response. For the professional charged with the responsibility of having to deal with unexpected child deaths, such as a pediatrician, a police officer, or social worker, this title offers guidance on how to respond adequately to this tragic event but also places the subject in a larger social context, examining the history, epidemiology, causes, and contributory factors surrounding the death of a child. The book also covers the prevalence and types of death, the role of the police in an unexpected child death, how to support families, how to undertake a serious case review, and how to prevent child deaths in the future. Part of the prestigious NSPCC Wiley Series in Safeguarding Children - The Multi-Professional Approach. From the Inside Flap Unexpected death during childhood is a rare occurrence in the western world.  These deaths may occur as a result of sudden illness, accidents, or through maltreatment.  Whatever the cause, each death is a tragedy for the family and all those involved with them.  Professionals from all the caring agencies have a responsibility to help those families, offering support, investigating the cause of death, providing information, and above all seeking to prevent deaths in the first place. Sadly, the trauma experienced by families is all too often exacerbated by inappropriate or incompetent professional responses.  The devastating consequences of getting it wrong have been clearly highlighted in recent court of appeal cases where previous convictions have been overturned.  Both families and professionals suffer as a result.  In the words of Baroness Helena Kennedy, “it is every family’s right to have their baby’s death properly investigated”.  However, this is an area where professionals often feel ill equipped and unprepared. Unexpected Death in Childhood explores the new guidelines and legislation in the UK that have placed further responsibilities on agencies to work together to review all child deaths and to respond appropriately to unexpected deaths in childhood. It is split into three sections; Understanding Childhood Death, Responding when a child dies and Learning lessons.  The first section provides essential background knowledge on the causes and patterns of childhood death, drawing extensively from the most up to date scientific literature.  Part two provides practitioners with the skills needed to respond to unexpected childhood deaths in a systematic yet sensitive manner.  The final section covers processes needed to learn lessons from childhood deaths.  Various practical tools and protocols are provided as appendices which are also available on the companion website  (insert website address here).  With many professionals finding themselves having to put procedures in place with little training or experience, this handbook is essential in providing practical advice.Unexpected Death in Childhood is part of the NSPCC Wiley series in Safeguarding Children – The Multi-Professional Approach From the Back Cover Unexpected death during childhood is a rare occurrence in the western world.  These deaths may occur as a result of sudden illness, accidents, or through maltreatment.  Whatever the cause, each death is a tragedy for the family and all those involved with them.  Professionals from all the caring agencies have a responsibility to help those families, offering support, investigating the cause of death, providing information, and above all seeking to prevent deaths in the first place. Sadly, the trauma experienced by families is all too often exacerbated by inappropriate or incompetent professional responses.  The devastating consequences of getting it wrong have been clearly highlighted in recent court of appeal cases where previous convictions have been overturned.  Both families and pr