Our eight Regional Development Officers (RDOs) are FSID’s public face, the vital link between the London office and bereaved families, befrienders, group members, supporters and professionals. If you are interested in the training and presentations offered by RDOs please contact either head office or the RDO for your region:

Contacts for your area:

Region 1
(Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham, Tyne Tees, Cumbria, Lancashire)
Beccy Dixon  
Tel: 01670 531 982

Region 2
(East Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.)
Gill Ryder
Tel: 0114 250 7037

Region 3
(Greater Manchester, North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside, Staffordshire)
Mikala Dawson Mikala is on maternity leave so please contact Jenny Ward on 020 7222 8001

Region 4
(Shropshire, West Midlands Central & South, South Wales)
RDO currently on maternity leave, please contact head office on 020 7222 8001.

Region 5
(Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambs, Essex, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire (Thames Valley).
Debbie Bezalel

Region 6
(Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Avon, Gloucestershire,  Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, South West Peninsula)
Carrie Langford 
Tel: 01872 863 114  

Region 7
(Kent, Surrey & Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight)
Judith Howard
Tel: 01227 272914

Region 8
(Greater London, part of Surrey, part of Kent, part of Essex, part of Middlesex)
Alison Green
Tel: 020 8873 6929

Northern Ireland does not have a dedicated Regional Development Officer. Information on FSID's work in the region can be obtained from Ian Glass. Tel: 028 3833 2985, (Mobile) 07803 799 252, email: ian@glassi.freeserve.co.uk

Supporting A&E staff
The majority of babies who die as a cot death are taken to an A&E department, and staff report that this is one of the most distressing aspects of their work. Our eight RDOs already have good links with many of the country’s A&E departments.

Working with midwives
Dialogue with midwives is a high priority, and across the country midwives on maternity units are being contacted by RDOs on a two year rota, to be updated with the Reduce the Risk messages given to parents during the ante natal period, in the hospitals and in the community. Training is also being given to midwifery students.

Regional meetings and conferences are arranged around the regions so parents and professionals have an opportunity to meet. Each region will hold conferences which cover the latest research and provide information and support,  In other areas more informal meetings are being held, some combined with Family Days Out.

Talks and presentations
Numerous talks and presentations are given to a wide range of professionals and the media each year by our RDOs, and also by parents and CONI Co-ordinators. Speaking directly to those involved with newly bereaved parents is a vitally important way of getting across information about FSID's Befrienders, the Helpline and free Helpline phone cards, and the Befriender Preparation Days.

The RDOs' work on the ground would not be possible without the valuable support of our groups, Befrienders and other volunteers. FSID would like to say a huge thank you to these tireless unpaid workers who help at conferences, give presentations, support bereaved families and ensure the profile of FSID, its services and cot death in general remains at the forefront of public awareness.