Child health care progress in Scotland praised

THE Scottish government has been praised for progress made on children's health over the last year.

But the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said urgent action was still needed to improve the review system for child deaths.

The RCPCH issued a series of recommendations to improve child health across the UK 12 months ago.

In a scorecard on nations' progress, it said Scotland and Wales were performing better than England. The RCPCH singled out Scottish policies designed to cut child poverty and boost health visitor numbers. It cited Scotland passing the Child Poverty Act with defined poverty reduction targets as an example of the progress. South of the border it warned deepening public health cuts were disproportionately affecting children’s services.

With child health in the UK still among the worst in western Europe, the report’s authors said policy commitments must be delivered.

Prof Neena Modi, president of the RCPCH, said: “The science exists for all to see - invest in the health of children and make a huge difference to their health in later life and hence to their economic productivity.

“This is time for a long vision for the sake of the nation’s wellbeing and prosperity, yet the focus remains short-term and ineffective.” Dr Steve Turner, the RCPCH officer for Scotland, welcomed the findings but said more needed to be done to meet children and young people’s needs. He said: “It’s heartening that the child health and wellbeing agenda is moving forward in Scotland.

“Considering only a year has passed since the launch of our State of Child Health report, it is encouraging that so many commitments to child health have been made. The key now is to make sure these commitments are delivered effectively.”