New report on child health in the UK

Date: 11th March 2020
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare

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The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's report explores current indicators of the state of child health in the UK including, mortality, maternal and perinatal health and mental health.

Country-specific reports have been produced for each of the four nations of the UK. Scotland’s report shows that between 2014-present, the rate of child and adolescent mortality increased, the rate of immunisations for children aged 0-5 decreased, the percentage of children aged 4-5 recorded as overweight or obese has increased.

Areas of improvement in Scotland include: decrease in rate of tooth extraction and decay in children aged 0-5, a reduction in the percentage of mothers smoking during pregnancy, an increase in the breastfeeding rate, a decrease in the number of 15-year-olds who smoke and report getting drunk on two or more occasions.

There was no data available on the percentage of 5-15 year olds reporting mental health disorders. However, the rate of suicides in 15-24 year olds increased. 

The report sets out three priorities for Scottish Government:

1. Reduce child health inequalities
2. Prioritise public health, prevention and early intervention
3. Build and strengthen local, cross-sector services to reflect local need

Read the UK report here.

Read the Scotland report and full list of indicators here.