BMJ  2004;328:1262 (22 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7450.1262

Letter

Implementing guidelines on sudden infant death

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Fleming et al described a multi-agency approach to investigating unexpected infant deaths.¹ Such a multiagency protocol—adopted by the police, health, social services, and coroners—has existed in Sussex since 1999. This precedent was acknowledged in the Avon protocol described by Fleming et al.¹

With support from the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, we recently evaluated the Sussex protocol over its first three years. We looked at the processes and outcomes of multiagency investigations into unexpected infant deaths and obtained feedback from parents and professionals.

A key finding was that implementation of the protocol was incomplete and variable throughout the county. There was no agreed implementation strategy, and how the protocol was applied in practice was left to individual professionals on duty at the time. Some aims were achieved—for example, early interagency discussions took place, and most postmortem examinations were carried out by paediatric pathologists.

There were, however, . . . [Full text of this article]

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 3JN anne.livesey@southdowns.nhs.uk

Sussex Police, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 8AF

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