Monday, June 03, 2013
Finding Ways to Keep Children Safe in Ontario
Committees Continue to Explore Ways to Prevent Infant, Child and Youth Deaths
The Paediatric Death Review Committee and Deaths Under Five Committee continue to work to identify ways to lower infant death rates, including those associated with unsafe sleeping environments.
The committees released their annual report today, which found that an unsafe sleeping environment was observed in 37 per cent of the 131 infant death cases studied.
Other items in this year's report include:
- Critical care resources for infants, children and adolescents
- Sexual/gender identity and links to youth suicide
- Prescription drug related deaths and the family medicine cabinet
Quick Facts
- The safest sleeping situation for infants is on their back, on an unshared surface designed for infant sleep.
- The Paediatric Death Review Committee and the Deaths Under Five Committee assists the Office of the Chief Coroner in the investigation and review of deaths of children and makes recommendations to help prevent deaths in similar circumstances.
- The Paediatric Death Review Committee reviews all deaths involving children who were receiving or had received Children’s Aid services within 12 months of their death.
Quotes
“The numbers of infant deaths associated with unsafe sleeping environments remain similar year after year. In addition to reminding caregivers to provide safe sleep environments, this data prompts us to explore new investigative tools to better identify causes with the goal of mitigating future occurrences.”
Dr. Dirk Huyer
Chair of the Paediatric and Deaths Under Five Committee and Regional Supervising Coroner, Central Region
Media Contacts
Laura Blondeau
Office of the Chief Coroner
416-314-4005
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