Would primary care paediatricians improve UK child health outcomes? Yes

Timothy Peter Newson

doi:10.3399/bjgp20X709229

Present child health outcomes

We are failing our children and young people in the UK. Earlier this year, research showed that UK childhood mortality is higher than in a comparable group of wealthy countries for common infections and multiple non-communicable diseases.¹

The UK, for example, has the highest rate of childhood asthma deaths in Europe due to poor chronic disease management despite good national guidelines.²^–⁵ Delays in diagnosis of Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy in the UK are among the longest in Europe, being only marginally better than in the 1970s, mainly due to lack of recognition of delayed motor development in primary care.⁶^,⁷ Against this backdrop, my own recent experience of a late referral of a child now diagnosed with a brain tumour, who had been symptomatic with red-flag signs for 3 months despite seeking consultation on multiple occasions in primary care, has made me reflect that there is a systemic problem with health care for children in this country.