
Hundreds of Scots children diagnosed with malnutrition
Whilst the focus of the nation’s attention has been on other matters this past few weeks, Achieve More Scotland has come across a recent report in The Herald newspaper which highlights that almost 4,000 children under the age of 18 in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area were admitted to an acute site for malnutrition between 2018 to 2022. This is not acceptable and is a national disgrace.
No child or young person in this country should be treated for malnutrition when there are plenty of resources to go round. As one leading trade union representative states, “There’s more than enough money in this country, it’s just in the wrong hands.”
In a nation purported to be the 5th richest on the planet it is with some concern that we note the increasing gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. More and more we read of circumstances that suggest a return to Victorian times for many families in this country. Whilst we acknowledge that child poverty rates in Scotland are the lowest in the UK, no one in power should be resting on their laurels and we believe more effort and resources are required to support families during this cost-of-living crisis. The future health and well-being of our children relies on it.
In line with this report, the ongoing focus for Achieve More Scotland (as it has been for more than a decade) will be to support families, not only by providing play, physical activity and sustenance for children and young people at breakfast, after-school and holiday camps, but also ensuring that families with whom we work have access to resources which enable them to feed their children adequately at a time when many are having to make the decision between heating their homes or feeding their children.
There requires to be a more concerted national approach to addressing the issues deeply affecting so many families in this country at this time, Achieve More Scotland, and many other Third Sector organisations will play their part, but it requires more resources and a more strategic approach.
Source:
Hundreds of Scots children diagnosed with malnutrition https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/21671126.hundreds-scots-children-diagnosed-malnutrition/