'UK in danger of failing a generation of children’, warn doctors

It says that progress has also been ‘seriously affected’ by deep cuts to local authority budgets – used to finance public health initiatives and community services.

The report, the largest ever compilation of data on the health of babies, children and young people across all four UK nations, looks at 28 measures of health outcomes, ranging from specific conditions, such as asthma, epilepsy and mental health problems, to risk factors for poor health such as poverty, low rates of breastfeeding and obesity.

It finds that health outcomes for children who live in deprived areas have worsened since the report was last published in 2017. Health outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds are now up to four time worse than those from more advantaged backgrounds.

The authors highlight that, even where there have been ‘notable’ improvements in children’s health, the UK is often lagging far behind other countries. For example, although there has been a fall in the number of emergency asthma admission rates across the country, the UK still has one of the highest mortality rates in Europe for children and young people with the condition.

On infant mortality generally, the report finds that the UK is fifth from bottom among 27 European counties for infant (children under the age of one) mortality. It says that infant mortality in England stalled between 2013 and 2018.

In England and Wales, infant mortality is more than twice as high in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas.

On child poverty, the report finds that across the UK, rates have increased for all types of working family. Lone parents working part-time and households with only one working parent have seen the sharpest increases in poverty over the last three years.

The authors conclude by making a number of policy recommendations for each nation. For England, these include:

• Introduce a cross departmental National Child Health and Well-being Strategy to address and monitor child poverty and health inequalities.
• Restore £1 billion of real-term cuts to the public health grant for local authorities.
• Ensure future investment in public health provision increases at the same rate as NHS funding and is allocated based on population health needs.
• Provide health-based support for children throughout education, including funding for increased numbers of school nurses and school counsellors.
• Provide renewed investment in services for children and families, which support the child’s school readiness.
• Ensure that health visiting services are protected, support and expanded with clear and secure funding.

Comments

Dr Ronny Cheung, clinical lead for RCPCH and co-author of the report, said, ‘Two weeks ago, the Marmot Review presented a stark picture about life expectancy in England. Now, our own report shows troubling signs for children and young people across the UK. 

‘The harsh reality is that, in terms of health and well-being, children born in the UK are often worse off than those born in other comparably wealthy countries. This is especially true if the child is from a less well-off background.

‘Infant mortality is a globally-recognised sign of how well a country is looking after the health of its citizens. Throughout the world, the number of babies dying in their first year has been steadily falling for decades, as incomes rises, and mothers and children receive better healthcare. Yet UK infant mortality rates have stalled, and in England they actually got worse between 2016 and 2017. For a high-income nation such as ours that should be a major wake up call.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said, ‘We want every child to have the best start in life, regardless of their background, and tackling health inequalities is a priority for the Government.

‘Early intervention is key, and we are taking urgent steps to improve child health. We have launched the most ambitious plan in the world to cut childhood obesity by half by 2030, we are transforming children’s mental health to treat to give 70,000 more children access to services by next year and we are improving maternity services.’

• The report is available here