Children's health is a postcode lottery, claims National Children's Bureau

There is a huge gap in the levels of tooth decay, injury, obesity and early childhood development in children under five across the country according to the latest report by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB).

The report reveals that growing up in a deprived area and poor health are inevitable as many areas were revealed to have better than average child health even though they were noticeably less prosperous.

Chief executive of the National Children's Bureau, Anna Feuchtwang said: “It is shocking that two children growing up in neighbouring areas can expect such a wildly different quality of health.

“As these variations are closely linked to poverty, with those in areas with the highest levels of deprivation more likely to suffer from a range of health issues, we have to ask whether England is becoming a nation of two halves?”

The information has been made public as public health responsibility for children under five is transferred to local authorities.

The ‘Poor Beginnings’ report revealed that a five year old in Leicester is five times more likely to experience tooth decay than one living in West Sussex.

Indicating that if young children living in the North West had the same health as those living in the South West, then more than 15,000 cases of child ill-health could be prevented.

This could result in 11,000 fewer five year olds with tooth decay, 2,500 fewer under fives admitted to hospital with an injury each year.

The report further detailed that there could be almost 20 per cent fewer obese four to five year olds and 11 per cent of children could achieve a good level of development by the time they complete reception class.

Ms Feuchtwang continued: “The link between poverty and poor health is not inevitable. Work is urgently needed to understand how local health services can lessen the impact of living in a deprived area.

“We need local and national government to make the same efforts to narrow the gap in health outcomes across the country for under-fives as has been made to narrow the gap in achievement between poor and rich pupils in school. Government must make it a national mission over the next five years to ensure that the heath and development of the first five years of a child's life is improved.”

There is such stark variation between the health and development in children under five throughout England, resulting in children living on one area, being more likely to be subjected to poor health than other similar aged children living nearby.

The Poor Beginnings report focuses on key indicators of health and development in children, revealing that children in a reception class in Barking and Dagenham are more than two and half times more likely to be obese than those living in Richmond-upon-Thames, just 18 miles away.

In addition, the report found that a young child in the Isle of Wight is four times more likely to be admitted to hospital with an injury than a similar child in Westminster.

Chief executive of the Institute of Health Visitors, Cheryll Adams added: “Trends in inequalities in health can be complex as this report suggests, with poverty not always being associated with poor health outcomes.

“Local health professionals, such as health visitors, understand the social determinants off health in communities, and how these may most effectively be addressed upstream with the right local policies and interventions.

“Although the greatest need is often concentrated in many poor communities, the majority of need, whilst less concentrated, is in fact in the rest of the population which is so much larger in number.

“Health services must continue to be commissioned to recognise risk and intervene early in the life cycle, in pregnancy and the very early years, as this can have the greatest impact on improving health and development.”

The Poor Beginnings report confirmed that health and development of children under five is linked with the affluence of the area they grow up in, supporting the notion of those living in poor areas being most likely to suffer from poor health.

The study concludes that children under five from poor areas are significantly more likely to experience obesity, tooth decay, accidental injuries and lower educational development, revealing more than 30 per cent of four to five years from the most deprived areas experienced tooth decay compared to more than 18 per cent of children from the richest areas.

Some areas do not follow the trend, revealing low levels of tooth decay despite high levels of deprivation, these include: Hartlepool, South Tyneside and Islington.

The report calls for the Government to establish a new strategy to improve health and development in children and their families in the early years, while investigating the variations revealed in the report and how they are linked to local health schemes and initiatives.

To read the full report, visit: www.ncb.org.uk/poorbeginnings