SUDC UK Just Giving

I have worked as a nurse, midwife and health visitor in the NHS for over 35 years. I have enjoyed each of these roles and feel grateful for a wonderful career and the many experiences I have had.

In April 2025 I will have worked as a SUDC Nurse (Sudden and Unexpected Deaths in Children) for 10 years. This involves attending the deaths of children, aged 0-18 years that have died suddenly and unexpectedly across Lancashire. Out of all of the roles I have undertaken in my nursing career, this has got to be the hardest, most challenging, and without question the most upsetting and emotional role I have ever done. Meeting families just moments after their child has died suddenly and unexpectedly is devastating. The unimaginable has happened, and parents are often overcome with shock, distress and disbelief. Their pain is raw and their grief is immense.

Whilst challenging, this is also one of the most rewarding roles I have ever done. It is a privilege to be there for families in these truly tragic circumstances. To meet parents on what can only be described as the worst day of their lives and then to guide them through all the processes that have to follow is a real privilege. Working with families and seeing the progress they make provides some level of job satisfaction even in the worst of circumstances. I have met and worked with many wonderful families and feel very fortunate to undertake this role across the whole of Lancashire.

To mark my 10-year anniversary as a SUDC Nurse I have decided to challenge myself and raise money for charity in the process! In April 2025 I will be travelling to Nepal and climbing to Everest Base Camp. I will be doing this with my husband, John.

This is a three-week challenge, climbing steadily over rugged terrain to reach the heights of 5,364m, in very cold temperatures and staying in very basic accommodation – for those that know me, I don’t do caravanning or camping, so this is a challenge in itself!

The charity I have chosen to support is SUDC UK. This is a registered national charity dedicated to raising SUDC awareness, funding research and providing family support to bereaved parents.

SUDC UK works specifically with families where the child, aged between 1-18 years, has died unexpectedly and this remains unexplained after a full investigation, including a post-mortem examination. This affects around 40 children each year in the UK and is the 4th leading cause of death in 1-4-year-olds. This is more than young deaths due to road traffic accidents, fires and drowning, and comparable to 1-2 seemingly healthy children dying every fortnight. These children often go to sleep and never wake up.

Since starting this role, myself and the team have dealt with around 470 unexpected child deaths. A cause of death has not been found in many of these cases. Imagine losing a child and then never knowing why they died. It's unthinkable. SUDC UK has supported many of our local families. Parents have found their support and advice invaluable.

There is limited awareness and research to understand SUDC and currently, we do not know how to predict or prevent these deaths. SUDC deaths continue to devastate families year on year. SUDC is one of the most under-recognised tragedies of our time.  

I would be grateful if you could support my challenge by donating anything you can to my Just Giving page to support this amazing charity. We all need to take action to stop children dying without explanation. By supporting SUDC UK you will be assisting in:

· Encouraging and funding crucial medical research to understand these tragic deaths better

· Improving the support offered to families affected by SUDC

· Improving awareness and understanding of SUDC

Thank you very much,

Joanne