Child death review process for Child Health Information Team and paediatric secretaries

Notification received that a child or young person has died

Child Health Information Team

• Ensure that the child’s status is updated as quickly as possible on the SIRS, CHSP-S system and EMIS. This must be dealt with on the same day.
• Ensure all staff in the Child Health Department are aware that the child has died – ensuring good communication with paediatric Secretaries.
• Phone Primary Care on 0345 300 1024. Tell them where you are phoning from e.g. Child Health, NHS Borders and tell them you wish to notify them of the death of a child. Please ensure you have the date of death when making this phone call as Primary Care will need this information.
• Go into the relevant CH system and change the child’s current status to a status 5, (This will be either the SIRS or the CHSP-S system, depending whether the child is pre- school or school age).
• Over the next few hours following your phone call to Primary Care, keep checking CHI to ensure the record has been marked deceased. 
• If the record has not been updated within a few hours phone Primary Care again to chase this up.
• Any issues with Primary Care please report immediately to Kirsty in the first instance or Debbie.
• If this is a neonatal death and no bloodspot result has been received, please email the Bloodspot Lab and notify them of child’s death – file email in bloodspot folder.
• The child’s BGH/Child Health notes will need to be pulled and filed on shelf above Kirsty’s desk – ensure tracked to location ‘CCHU’ and in comments ‘Deceased Notes - Kirsty’s shelf’. Please mark on the notes ‘Deceased’ & date of death.

Notes should be boxed and sent to offsite storage when there is enough notes to fill a box

Updating EMIS

• Select registration and enter child’s CHI number (ensure you have selected correct child)
• Select deduct patient
• Select deduction reason – ‘Death’
• Enter date of Death
• Cause of Death- ‘Unknown’
• Ensure ‘cancel future appointments’ is selected and select ok.
• The child should now appear in red on EMIS.
• The above will only work if the patient is active on EMIS. If they are inactive, click registration and then re-register, click ok and then complete mandatory boxes.

If you receive any correspondence relating to the death please forward to the Consultant involved, Clare Ketteridge (CDR Clinical Lead) and BOR.childrensreviews@borders.scot.nhs.uk (Child Death Review Team)

Paediatric secretaries

Paediatric secretaries - Action immediately/same day

• Check child’s details on EMIS and TRAK to identify professionals involved.
• Send information to Child Death Review Team on BOR.childrensreviews@borders.scot.nhs.uk and contact Paediatric Consultant on Call.
• Check systems for outstanding appointments and Inform medical records to ensure TrakCare is updated.
• Ensure clear communication with the Child Health Information Team.