Doctors call on Mayor of North-East to protect children from air pollution in Newcastle

This is the Healthy prescription taken to Geneva (WHO) from COP26 In Glasgow 2021 by members of Ride for their Lives (Heather and I are both members + Mike McKean)

DOCTORS caring for children across Newcastle have called on new Mayor of the North East, Kim McGuinness, to act urgently to protect children from air pollution resulting from motor traffic.

In an open letter from health professionals, which includes six consultants in respiratory medicine, the specialists write: “Children are affected by air pollution even before they are born, with increased rates of miscarriage, premature delivery and low birthweight.

“We are seeing increased rates and severity of asthma and other respiratory illnesses which sometimes kill children. We now recognise that its impact is much wider than respiratory illness alone’”

The paediatricians are particularly concerned about what they describe as backsliding in Newcastle in relation to reducing pollution and increasing active travel in residential areas and around schools.

They say: “In Newcastle, a number of policy initiatives which were successful in increasing walking and cycling have subsequently been removed on vocal opposition but flawed “evidence.

“We ask you to press Newcastle Council in particular to reverse their retrograde policies of terminating low traffic neighbourhoods and ending support for school streets which are almost universally popular, and unfathomably have stopped after only reaching a fraction of those promised.

“These policies have been shown to reduce pollution and increase the numbers of children cycling to school and were ended on a paucity of evidence despite much local support, leading to feelings of frustration and anger among local residents who seek clean air, healthier children and reduced carbon emissions.”

The doctors refer to a recent policy statement from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health on air pollution. Among its recommendations, this paper calls for a national rollout of school streets and improving infrastructure to facilitate active travel to school. Progress has stalled on both these policies in Newcastle.

The letter ends: “Recognising that change is challenging and local people need to be convinced of the benefits, we are keen to work with you to use our message and voice on the health benefits of clean air and active travel.”

Lead author Dr Heather Lambert (main picture) of the Royal Victoria Infirmary says “The effects of air pollution are damaging to everybody’s health but particularly to children. To do nothing is not harmless -it is actually allowing damage to health to continue.”

Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Tony Waterston says ‘I’m horrified at the lack of progress in Newcastle to make active travel the dominant mode of travel for children.

“In most areas parents are reluctant to let their children cycle owing to the risk of motor traffic. Yet children love cycling and do better at school after cycling or walking there in the morning. We need to move much faster in reaching the targets that the city is already signed up to.’

Dr Mike McKean commented: “It is now absolutely clear that air pollution is driving many diseases in people of all ages, and that it disproportionately affects babies, children and young people.

“We also know from many towns and cities across the UK and overseas, that action to reduce pollution can work. It is time for people to put our children first in all cities, including Newcastle, and reduce the harmful toxic emissions  from fossil fuels deriving from motor traffic”

THE LETTER TO THE MAYOR IN FULL:

Dear Mayor Kim McGuinness,

We write as local health professionals who treat children, concerned about the detrimental effects of air pollution on children’s health in Newcastle and the wider North East.

In 2021, the Coroner’s report on the role of air pollution in the death from asthma of 9-year-old Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi Debrah criticised not just the central government but also local government departments and the medical profession. This was a wake-up call to many of us. Children are affected by air pollution even before they are born, with increased rates of miscarriage, premature delivery and low birth weight. We are seeing increased rates and severity of asthma and other respiratory illnesses which sometimes kill children. We also now recognise that its impact is much wider than respiratory illness alone. Current scientific literature attributes an alarming proportion of illnesses like heart disease, strokes and dementia to dirty air. These illnesses come at a huge cost to the individual and place great strain on the NHS and local care facilities.

We want to support clean air initiatives of Newcastle and surrounding Councils but are seriously concerned that these are too few in number and too slow to make the difference needed. Individuals can’t make the required changes themselves and so we are all reliant on local and national governments working quickly, together, to address this problem for us.

In Newcastle, a number of policy initiatives which were successful in increasing walking and cycling have subsequently been removed on vocal opposition but flawed “evidence”. We ask you to press Newcastle Council in particular to reverse their retrograde policies of terminating low-traffic neighbourhoods and ending support for school streets, which are almost universally popular and unfathomably have stopped after only reaching a fraction of those promised. These policies have been shown to reduce pollution and increase the number of children cycling to school and were ended on a paucity of evidence despite much local support, leading to feelings of frustration and anger among local residents who seek clean air, healthier children and reduced carbon emissions.

Your election as North East Mayor, along with the commitment from the new Labour Government and Transport minister to deliver major investment in cycling and walking in the North East, provides a golden opportunity to make changes that have real impact. We welcome your commitment to “creating a North East that goes beyond net zero with climate change policies that change peoples lives” and to “major improvements to regional walking, wheeling and cycle routes” improving wellbeing for all, reducing inequalities and improving health. Currently, the majority of journeys in cities are under 3 km, which is a perfect distance for walking or cycling. Reducing car use for such journeys would be hugely beneficial to health for all the family, helping the return of nature and making the air cleaner. It will help more children to feel safe walking or cycling to school and thereby assist their independence, knowledge of their local area, and their learning. We were pleased to see the picture of you cycling with Chris Boardman, celebrating the excellent new cycle infrastructure on the seafront at Tynemouth; having recently cycled to Paris with him, Heather knows how difficult it is to keep up with him and still talk!

The recent Position Statement by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which specifically mentions the role of metropolitan mayors, is both evidence-based and clear in its demands for the health of our children. Recognising that change is challenging and local people need to be convinced of the benefits, we are keen to work with you to use our message and voice on the health benefits of cleaning the air we breathe by policies including active travel, public transport, clean air zones, and restrictions on urban wood burning.

Please could we meet to discuss what we can do to support the new incoming leader of Newcastle City Council who we understand will be in-post from early October?

Air pollution is still around, and we need to move much faster – especially in Newcastle!

Signed: Dr Heather Lambert, Dr Tony Waterston, Dr Mike McKean, Dr Matt Thomas, Dr Sam Moss, Dr Malcolm Brodlie, Dr Iram Haq, Dr Caroline Harris, Dr Vicky Thomas, Dr Sunil Bhopal, Dr Jonathan Coates.

• The writers collaborate with Ride For Their Lives, an international collective of healthcare workers cycling together to inspire action on air pollution and climate change.

Ride for their Lives members is a high profile group of health professionals who draw attention to the plight of young children in UK cities whose life is potentially blighted by pollution.