UK children's health continues to decline, paediatricians warn

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By Emma Wilkinson

Children in the UK are facing some of the worst health outcomes in Western Europe, paediatricians have warned.

Without action, the UK is on track to raise one of the unhealthiest generations of children in decades, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health concluded.

Across a range of measures from vaccine uptake to admissions for asthma, mental health to infant mortality, children’s health has either declined or stalled over the past decade, its State of Child Health report found.

In addition, it found a widening gap between the richest and poorest families and warned “the environment in which our children are growing up is causing them harm”.

The college also said underinvestment in the child health workforce meant services had “limited capacity” to deliver timely support.

It called on the government to commit to a clear set of meaningful national targets to ensure that improving child health and tackling inequalities.