NHS took funds from milk formula firms

NHS bodies are risking babies’ health by accepting money from milk formula companies in breach of World Health Organisation (WHO) rules.

Nearly a third of local commissioners responsible for allocating NHS cash have breached guidelines such as accepting payments or sponsorship over the last five years, a survey revealed.

The international code of practice is intended to protect breast feeding and regulate the aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes.

Experts last night said that doctors in NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) areas that had flouted the rules may be at higher risk of inappropriately recommending branded milk formula. Many will have attended training events sponsored by formula companies and awash with commercial literature, said Dr Laura de Rooy, a consultant neonatologist at St George’s Hospital, London.

“Training days are not necessarily providing healthcare professionals with unbiased information,” she said.

Conducted by Channel 4’s Dispatches, the investigation revealed that

‘If you’re a company and want to promote products, you want to reach the people who are most influential’

59 of England’s 195 CCGS had recorded a breach of the code of practice since 2014. The programme also says it has obtained leaked documents from the marketing agency of Danone, which dominates the UK formula industry with its brands Cow & Gate and Aptamil, revealing a £4 return on investment for every £1 spent on marketing.

The latest investigation follows a report in the British Medical Journal, which suggested that the 500 per cent rise in the rate of milk allergies among babies over a decade is partly due to links between the formula industry and doctors.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “Parents have a right to accurate, unbiased advice from healthcare professionals and it is completely unacceptable for healthcare providers or workers to receive financial incentives of any kind to endorse particular brands.”

Prof Anthony Costello, a former WHO director, said: “If you’re a company and you want to promote your products, you want to reach the people who are most influential.”

The Great Formula Milk Scandal: Dispatches is broadcast on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm.