Public Health England has recently published a Child Health Profile 2015 for each local authority in England.
The report is updated annually and provides a snapshot of Richmond borough performance against 32 selected indicators compared with the rest of England. Key 2015 findings are highlighted below.
The full Child Health Profile 2015 report for Richmond borough can be accessed here
What does this mean for Richmond?
- Children and young people under the age of 20 years make up 24.1% of the population (46,200 in number). This is a similar proportion as in England as a whole (23.8%).
- The health and wellbeing of children living in Richmond borough is better than the average for England according to many of the indicators. The infant mortality rate (children under 1 year) is lower than the England average, and the child mortality rate (age 1-17 years) is similar to the England average.
- There has been a reduction in the level of child poverty (children aged under 16 years) from the previous year (10%) to 8.8%. This is lower than the England average of 19.2%.
- The rate of family homelessness in Richmond is higher than the England average but lower than the London average. Homelessness rates are generally higher in London than in England, which explains the red ratings for national comparison.
- Levels of overweight and obesity among primary school aged children are significantly lower than nationally. In 2013/14, 5.5% of reception and 10.5% of Year 6 pupils were obese. Compared to the previous year 2012/13, there has not been much change between the percentage of reception children who were obese (5.7%), but a small reduction in the percentage of Year 6 pupils who were obese (12.4%). However, the borough continues to follow the national trend -with a doubling in the percentage of children who are obese between entering and leaving primary school.
- In 2013, under 18 conceptions were approximately 12 girls for every 1,000 females aged 15-17 years, which is lower than in London and England as a whole. This is a reduction from the rate in 2011 (approximately 20 girls for every 1,000 females), similar to the trend for London and England.
- A higher than average proportion of children are assessed to have achieved a good level of development (GLD) at the end of the early years foundation stage of education, with 64.2% achieving this milestone. This compares to the figure for England of 60.4%, and the figure for Kingston of 64.9% (a comparable borough). The foundation stage assessment is completed in the final term of the academic year in which a child reaches the age of five. This is a significant improvement from 2012/13, when 42.6% of children were assessed as achieving a good level of development. The comparatively lower figure for 2012/13 may have, in part, been due to inconsistencies in applying the new assessment process in that year
- Immunisation coverage for childhood vaccines remains below the 95% level required to protect children and young people from serious infectious disease. Compared with the England average, a lower percentage of children (89%) have received their first dose of MMR immunisation by the age of two in the Richmond borough.
- There were 27 hospital admissions due to alcohol specific conditions per 100,000 under 18 year olds, which is significantly lower than the average for England (40 per 100,000). This is an improvement in the level in the previous period, 2011/12-2013/14 (39 per 100,000), when the indicator was not significantly different from the England average.
- There has been a reduction in the level of hospital admissions for mental health conditions from 66.9 in 2012/13 to 32 per 100,000 in 2013/14, which is significantly lower than the average for England (87 per 100,000). Whereas previously there was no significant difference between the averages for England and Richmond.
- There were 107 hospital admissions as a result of self-harm (10-24 years). The standardised rate for Richmond is similar to the England average, but is higher than the London average.
The chart below shows how children’s health and wellbeing in Richmond compares with the rest of England. The local result for each indicator is shown as a circle, against the range of results for England which are shown as a grey bar. The red line indicates the England average. The key to the colour of the circles is shown below.
