Published: 14 March 2005
Delivering Choosing Health
Dave Arun comments on what Health Secretary John Reid said at the launch of the government's new publication - 'Delivering Choosing Health'.
Dr Reid Teaching said that teaching children to eat well and encouraging them to exercise is vital if Britain is to become a healthier and fitter nation.
The delivery plan sets out his claims as to how the commitments made in the Public Health White Paper will translate into practical benefits for local communities.
The plans include a range of actions which are supposed to help children make healthier choices.
Children, with support from parents and health workers, will draw up personal health plans for life setting out how they will apply tips about eating the right kind of food and how often they should exercise.
(Who is he trying to kid? Where are all these extra health workers to come from and who is going to force parents and children to draw up these plans. Next they will be issuing ration books again).
Dr Reid said that Community matrons will play a key role in supporting children to help them lead healthier lifestyles. (This is presumably on top of the full workload they were given when they were originally recruited - to support people with long term illnesses in the community, rather than treating them in acute hospitals.
In the Source article Care Services for Long-term Conditions he claimed that the 'community matron' was a new type of health professional, whose role will be to give one-to-one support to the most vulnerable patients with long-term conditions. No mention of drawing up diet sheets for children!
One other point, whatever happened to School Nurses and Health Visitors, who are more qualified to carry out this work as it is an extension of what they are already doing?)
Schools will also begin piloting the use of pedometers to encourage kids to think about the amount of exercise they take. (Who will pay for them? This could cost a school several thousand pounds).
Primary Care Trusts (nearly all of them who are millions in the red already and probably cannot afford to recruit any Community Matrons, even to carry out their original function) are supposed to work with voluntary organisations to set (yet more) local targets for health improvements in their area.
The Department of Health will evidently now be required to publish six monthly reports on the nation's health, so that the government can track the progress that is being made on the ground.
(So having got rid of the need to collect several previously essential statistics in hospitals, the government is going to spend the money saved collecting another set of dubious data).
This new initiative is nothing more than a re-announcement of previous initiatives & 'blueprints' on the subject of children's diet and exercise, as can be seen by the long list of related articles below.
No mention of additional funding, just a wish list of extra duties for overworked community health staff, who should be given the resources they need to get on with the task without Ministerial interference.
Perhaps, before lecturing children and their patents on good eating habits, New Labour would do better to set a good example by raising & funding the 37p ingredients limit they have set for school meals, so that children don't need to eat 'turkey twisters', rather than real food.
A little less Doctor Reid and a bit more Jamie Oliver!
Further information
'Delivering Choosing Health'
Related articles
Could Eat Better
14/02/2005 - Source Correspondent
Healthy Blueprint
09/09/2004 - Source Correspondent
Problems in School
20/07/2004 - Source Correspondent
Consulting on Healthy Living
14/05/2004 - Source Correspondent
Speedier Action Needed
05/11/2004 - Source Correspondent
Healthy Food Awareness
08/07/2004 - Source Correspondent
Call to Beef Up Public Health Measures
06/07/2004 - Source Correspondent
Clarification on "Community Matron" Role
15/06/2004 - Source Correspondent
The Case for Banning Junk Food
03/06/2004 - Source Correspondent
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