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Child health: government must act now to increase investment in services, says BMA
BMJ 2020; 368 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m563 (Published 11 February 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;368:m563
- Abi Rimmer
- The BMJ
A serious lack of investment across a range of child services has left doctors concerned about the adverse impact on child health in England, the BMA has warned.
It urged the government to increase investment across the entirety of children’s health and social care services, and reverse local authority cuts in the upcoming budget.
A BMA analysis of data1 looking at investment in child services and child health found that:
- Spending on Sure Start and early years services in England has decreased by 39% since 2014-15
- Spending on public health services in England for children aged 5-19 has declined by 6% since 2016-17
- Spending …