Medical experts from one of the country's leading children's hospitals have warned that preventable health conditions in children are reaching epidemic levels. Staff at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool, the busiest children's hospital in Europe, highlighted in a recent 'Panorama' TV programme that the hospital is spending more than £1m and hundreds of hours of treatment time tackling conditions such as obesity, tooth decay and the problems caused by passive smoking (news, 22 April).
Dr Steve Ryan, medical director at Alder Hey, told Nursery World that the trend has taken doctors by surprise.
'Some of the increase has been gradual and some has been more sudden. Tooth decay in children has crept up on us, whereas child obesity has grown very rapidly over the last 20 or 30 years. The increase in passive smoking-related conditions has increased - however, that could be because there is more awareness now and so it is easier to diagnose conditions caused by smoking.'
LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
Despite the efforts of the Government, health professionals and anti-smoking campaigners, Dr Ryan thinks that parents still lack understanding of the dangers of passive smoking: between 500 and 1,000 children a year are admitted to hospital for passive smoking-related diseases or conditions including pneumonia, asthma, wheezing, bronchitis and glue ear.
Dr Ryan explains, 'We are failing to get the message to some parents about how harmful passive smoking is. We find that parents who would do the utmost to protect their child in every other way will still smoke in front of them. I think some of it is about being in denial - everyone knows a story about someone who smoked every day and lived to over 100 - but a lot of it comes down to not understanding how serious passive smoking is and what the risks are.'
SPEAKING TO PARENTS
Dr Ryan believes that the most effective way to combat the increase in preventable conditions is for parents to be able to speak with health professionals whom they trust will give them accurate information.
He says, 'We recently did some market research with a group of fathers. At first we showed them DVDs showing the effect of smoking during pregnancy on the heartbeat of a foetus. The fathers did not like the DVDs, as they thought they were trying to be overpersuasive and they felt the information was being pushed down their throats. What they did like was talking to a health professional - someone they trusted and respected and who had that credibility. I explained that I couldn't tell them exactly which baby would die of smoking-related cot death or which baby would get glue ear, but that it was about understanding what the risks are. They appreciated my honesty and that there was someone available to listen to their point of view.'
He adds, 'That told me that the key is to have someone who is prepared to spend some time with parents, such as GPs, health professionals or midwives. Health visitors should be there to support families by giving them high-quality information they can use to influence their health and getting key messages across. It is important not to ram the information down parents' throats but to help them to make decisions.'
CESSATION CLINICS
Helping parents to stop smoking is part of the core offer at some children's centres, such as East Staffordshire Children's Centre in Burton upon Trent.
Sue Ramsay, health and family support manager at East Staffordshire Children's Centre, explains, 'From May to the end of July we will be running regular smoking cessation clinics for parents, together with our local Time to Quit Team. We will be doing lots of face-to-face promotion of these clinics in the reception area of the children's centre on 30 April, where we can speak to parents who may be dropping their children off at nursery or using the toy library, and answer any questions that they may have.
'It is hard to get an accurate picture, but I would estimate that around 50 per cent of our children's parents smoke. We have worked periodically with the smoking cessation team on other initiatives, but this is the first time we have run some sort of clinic.'
Ms Ramsay agrees that parents lack understanding of the impact of passive smoking on children's health.
'There is definitely an education issue around the effects of passive smoking,' she says. 'Parents often tell us that they always go outside to smoke. The message isn't getting across that the chemicals stay on your clothing and so this is still harmful.'
