Glasgow doctor hits out at Tory MP over school meals
Special session called amid daily protests
ALEADING Glasgow doctor has said a Tory MP and fellow paediatrician has put her party over poor children’s welfare by opposing free school meals in England.
Dr Lucy Reynolds, a consultant paediatrician in Glasgow, was among 2200 children’s doctors who signed a letter backing Marcus Rashford’s campaign.
She is angered by the failure of Tory MP and fellow medic Dr Caroline Johnson to back the proposal in the Commons last week.
Johnson, also a consultant paediatrician, who went to fee- paying Gordonstoun School in Moray, is facing mounting anger from her professional colleagues after some 2200 paediatricians signed an open letter to Boris Johnson at the weekend urging him to adopt the policy in England.
The policy is already in place in Scotland,
Ireland.
The letter to the Prime Minister was organised by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Reynolds said she found it difficult to understand why a children’s doctor would not back Rashford’s campaign.
“I’m one of the over 2000 paediatricians who signed the open letter. I was glad to see the email from our college in time to be able to sign it, because I feel so strongly about the issue,” she said.
“Not only do free school meals reduce hunger, but they guarantee at least one meal a day is of a good nutritional standard, containing the protein, minerals and vitamins that are so important when the body and brain are still developing.
“I specialise in child development and disability, so I’m acutely aware of the importance of good nutrition in pregnancy and childhood, and how poor nutrition as a child can have a lifelong negative impact.”
Asked about Dr Caroline
Wales and
Northern
Johnson voting against the free school meals proposals, she added: “I find it difficult to understand how, in all conscience, this fellow paediatrician would just vote with her party rather than advocate for an intervention so appropriately focused on improving child welfare.
“One of our duties laid out by the General Medical Council is to “pro tect and promote the health of patients and the public”. This was a great opportunity for her to do just that for children in poverty.”
Dr Johnson, MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham, works part time as a consultant paediatrician at Peterborough City Hospital.
The doctors’ letter to the PM stated that ensuring children have enough to eat is one of the “most basic human responsibilities”.
It said: “Every day, we see the impact of hunger and malnutrition in our work as paediatricians. It is not unusual for us to care for children who don’t have enough to eat or who don’t have access to a substantial meal outside of what is provided in school.
“We call on the UK Government to match the pledges of the Welsh and Scottish governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, to continue to provide children from low- income backgrounds with free meals over the coming weeks and to then extend this at least until the Easter school holiday.”
THAILAND’S parliament began a special session that was called to address tensions amid prodemocracy protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation and other reforms.
As Speaker of the House Chuan Leekpai began the session, only 450 of the total of 731 members of both houses had signed in for the meeting.
The daily demonstrations by student- led groups in the Bangkok and other cities have three main demands: that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan- ocha step down, the constitution be amended to make it more democratic and reforms be made to the monarchy to make it more accountable.
Chuan cautioned that the parliament session was not to discuss the monarchy’s role.
Public criticism of the monarchy is unprecedented in a country where the royal institution has been considered sacrosanct and royalists have denounced the protesters for raising the issue.
The protesters allege Prayuth, who led a coup in 2014 as the army chief, was returned to power unfairly in last year’s election because laws had been changed to favour a pro- military party.
The protesters also say the constitution, written and enacted under military rule, is undemocratic.
In his opening speech Monday, Prayuth said he and his government are aware that this is an era of change, pushed by technology.
“But we have to admit that in Thailand, millions, tens of millions, of people do not want to see change through chaos,” he said, referring to different points of view over the protesters and their demands.
“Everyone has their own beliefs.”