Alison Johnstone MSP, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, today urged Scottish Ministers to act on the recommendations of a major report which concludes that 400 Scottish child deaths each year are potentially avoidable. The State of Child Health report by the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health says the Scottish Government should adopt a ‘child health in all policies’ approach to decision making.

The report urges support for families through financial inclusion services, like Glasgow’s Healthier Wealthier Children scheme which Green MSPs have persuaded Scottish Ministers to roll out across the country. It calls for all schools to deliver comprehensive sex and relationships education and also calls for 20 mph speed limits in built up areas to create safe places for children to walk, cycle and play.

Alison Johnstone, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, said: “The link between poverty and poor health is well established and this shocking report shows we need a transformation in how Government approaches the issue. Four hundred preventable child deaths each year must prompt serious action.

“Green MSPs have been pushing for an anti-poverty budget from Scottish Ministers, and we’ve already secured a guarantee that Glasgow’s Healthier Wealthier Children project, which boosts incomes for vulnerable families, will be rolled out across Scotland. We need to see other interventions such as an allowance for young carers, promotion of the Living Wage to stop in-work poverty, and a more humane approach to social security.

“We also need to see a shift in spending to make it easy to be active every day. The lack of funding for walking and cycling while motorways and air travel are set to benefit, and the deep cuts planned to sports agencies and council services, show that Scottish Ministers haven’t grasped how serious the situation is.”

The full report is available at:
www.rcpch.ac.uk/state-of-child-health

State of child health: The report at a glance

This is a comprehensive list of 25 measures of the health of UK children, ranging from specific conditions such as asthma, diabetes and epilepsy, risk factors for poor health such as obesity and a low rate of breastfeeding, to child deaths. The data provide an “across the board” snapshot of child health and wellbeing in the UK.

Key messages

Key actions – UK wide

Recommendations for UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments and decision makers

Key messages

Nearly one in five children in the UK is living in poverty and inequality is blighting their lives, with those from the most deprived backgrounds experiencing much worse health compared with the most affluent. Despite some improvements in the health of UK children over the last decades, there is clear disparity with Europe, and major cause for concern.

Child deaths

The UK ranks 15 out of 19 Western European countries on infant (under one year of age) mortality and has one of the highest rates for children and young people in Western Europe.

There is a strong association between deprivation and mortality, for example infant mortality is more than twice as high in the lowest compared with the highest socio-economic groups.

Smoking in pregnancy

The prevalence of smoking during pregnancy in the UK is higher than in many European countries (for example 5% in Lithuania and Sweden, compared with 19% in Scotland, 16% in Wales and 15% in Northern Ireland).

Smoking in pregnancy increases the likelihood of death, disability, and disease (for example stillbirth, cot death and the risk of respiratory disease across the life-course).

There is marked variation in smoking in pregnancy across the UK with a strong association with deprivation; for example in Scotland over a quarter (25.9%) of women in the most deprived areas acknowledged smoking following the birth of their baby, compared with 3.3% in the least deprived areas.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding in England and Scotland has shown minimal improvement since data recording commenced in 1975, with no improvement over the last five years, and remains lower than many other comparable high-income countries.

At 6 months, only 34% of babies in the UK are wholly or partially breastfed, compared to 71% in Norway

Breastfeeding has substantial health benefits for mothers and babies.

Across the UK, 46% of mothers in the most deprived areas breastfed compared with 65% in the most affluent areas.

Obesity

Across England, Scotland and Wales more than one in five children in the first year of primary school are overweight or obese.

There has been minimal improvement in the prevalence of child overweight and obesity over the past decade.

Obesity leads to substantially increased risk of serious life-long health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

In 2015/2016, 40% of children in England’s most deprived areas were overweight or obese, compared to 27% in the most affluent areas.

Smoking

The percentage of 15-year-old children smoking regularly is 6% in England and 8% in Wales and Scotland.

Smoking continues to be the greatest single cause of avoidable mortality in the UK.

Starting to smoke during adolescence increases the likelihood of being a life-long smoker.

The prevalence of child smoking is much higher amongst children from the most deprived areas; for example in Scotland’s most deprived areas, at least 1 in 10 young people are regular smokers.

Alcohol

In 2013/2014, 13% of 15-year-olds surveyed in Wales, 11% in England and 13.5% in Scotland reported drinking alcohol at least once a week.

Alcohol abuse continues to be a problem across the social spectrum.

Key actions – UK wide

Each UK Government to develop a child health and wellbeing strategy, coordinated, implemented and evaluated across the nation
Each UK Government to adopt a ‘child health in all policies’ approach
UK Government to introduce a ban on the advertising of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt in all broadcast media before 9pm
Each UK Government to develop cross-departmental support for breastfeeding; this should include a national public health campaign and a sector wide approach that includes employers, to support women to breastfeed
An expansion of national programmes to measure the height and weight of infants and children after birth, before school and during adolescence
A reversal of public health cuts in England, which are disproportionately affecting children’s services
The introduction of minimum unit alcohol pricing in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, in keeping with actions by the Scottish Government
UK Government to extend the ban on smoking in public places to schools, playgrounds and hospitals
UK Government to prohibit the marketing of electronic cigarettes to children and young people
National public health campaigns that promote good nutrition and exercise before, during and after pregnancy