“The inquest heard evidence that there is a significant demand from families with very…”

The coroner’s concerns

– 1.The inquest heard evidence that there is a significant demand from families with very young children who would like to get their children into a sleep routine at an early stage. To meet that demand there are now agencies and individuals who seek to meet that demand. However, the inquest was told that there is no statutory regulation of these individuals or of the agencies. Consequently, anyone can set up an agency that purports to offer training and expertise in maternity services. They need not have any formal training or any medical qualification. The courses they offer do not need to be quality assured or meet any minimum standards. 2. Anyone the inquest was told, can attach the term nurse to a word such as night/maternity/ post-natal. The inquest was told that only the term registered nurse is protected and restricted in its use. An individual who has no medical training or formal early years training can offer their services to a family with young children describing themselves as for example a maternity nurse. This can the inquest was told give a misleading impression of their expertise and skill set to a family employing them. A statutory bar on the word nurse being used by anyone other than a registered nurse on the NMC register would avoid this situation from arising. 3.The inquest was told that the promotion of prone sleeping by unqualified individuals describing themselves as maternity nurses and experts in sleeping poses a very significant risk to a young baby. A baby will sleep more deeply in a prone position which is why superficially it can seem to be a solution where a baby sleeps poorly. However, whenever a young baby is placed in such a position it will increase the risk that they will die suddenly and unexpectedly. All health professionals need to be vigilant in continuing to emphasise the national guidance on safe sleeping and be vigilant in flagging up to a family that prone sleeping in a child that cannot independently turn over is not a solution to a poor sleep routine but rather is a factor that increases the risk of a sudden and unexpected death.

An extract. Read the full report, including the circumstances of the death, on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

Source

judiciary.uk, Prevention of Future Deaths reports, 2026-0179

Added to Minute Book

8 Oct 2026

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, judiciary.uk. Open Government Licence v3.0