‘Dementia link to sudden low blood pressure and dizziness’
October 13, 2024
England’s chief medical officer says people should feel “profoundly ashamed” of what she says is a “very worrying picture” of children’s health.
In her annual report, Prof Dame Sally Davies says the UK is lagging behind many other European countries.
She calls for a scheme offering vitamins to young children in low-income families to be made universal.
She also wants a survey of young people’s mental health, amid concerns about funding and services.
Only 25% of children with clinical mental health disorders receive specialist help within three years.
Dame Sally said her annual report – which this year is on child health – questioned whether our society had got the balance right and should act as a wake-up call.
She said obesity stood out as one of the big issues, but the report also demonstrated the interplay between health, social environment, emotional environment and education.
Some of the statistics, such as five more children aged up to 14 years dying each day of avoidable causes than in Sweden, were “absolutely shocking”, she said.
Dame Sally told BBC Radio 5 live: “The majority of deaths are in the first year of life, and these relate to prematurity.”
She said premature births could be reduced by stopping smoking during pregnancy and by improving the health and diet of pregnant women.
Nearly 27% of UK children are either in or at serious risk of being in poverty, compared with just 16% in the Netherlands
12.5% of toddlers are obese, as are 17% of boys and 16% of girls up to the age of 15
The long-term societal cost of childhood obesity is estimated to be as high as £700m a year
75% of lifetime mental health disorders start before 18 years of age, with the peak onset of most conditions being from eight to 15 years
About 10% of adolescents are suffering from a mental health problem at any one time
The chief medical officer said more needed to be done to give children a good start with their health, and acting early would save taxpayers’ money.
She has asked the medicines watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), to examine the cost-effectiveness of offering vitamins A, C and D to all children under five.
She said the giving parents vitamins for their children would “empower” them, giving them an extra boost during the winter months when there is less sunlight.
Dame Sally told BBC Radio 5 live: “Children get very locked on to screens and it can be difficult to turf them out into the sunlight. But the sun in the winter doesn’t give you as much vitamin D so this is necessary.”
Under the current scheme, children aged six months to four years are eligible for free vitamins if their parents are on benefits.
The chief medical officer’s annual report also calls for:
a named GP for every child with long-term conditions
a new national children’s week to celebrate children and young people
a regular survey on mental health among children and young people, including comparisons with other developed countries, to improve the evidence base for meeting young people’s mental health needs.
National Children’s Bureau chief executive Dr Hilary Emery said: “The UK must have greater expectations for children’s health if we are to be the best place in the world for children to grow up.
“As a nation we must be much more ambitious about giving every child the best start in life, and this should be a priority for all decision makers in central and local government.”
Source BBC News