New Freedom of Information data obtained by Mums for Lungs has found that over 200,000 children are taken to hospital with breathing difficulties in a survey of 11 major English cities.
The youngest children are most affected. Over 120,000 babies and toddlers aged up to 3 accounting for over half (57%) of those admitted to A&E or hospital.
Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs are still developing and they breathe more air relative to their body size than adults. Exposure to pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter is associated with respiratory illness and can exacerbate conditions such as asthma.
In Yorkshire, the city of Sheffield was one of the cities surveyed and the results are grim. Over 10,000 children were hospitalised owing to breathing problems in just one year, with the greatest number being admitted over the winter months. Over 2,000 of these patients were under 3-years-old
The data also includes 20,863 children across the Greater Manchester trusts represented (children admitted and attended A&E); 19,627 across the two Birmingham trusts in the dataset; 12,066 in the Liverpool hospitals and 10,724 in Sheffield.
Unfortunately, not all cities and towns were surveyed, but if they were, then the number of people hospitalised would be significantly higher.
Rachel Smedley, a parent in Sheffield, outlined her concerns about the pollutants in her city: “As a mother of three children I am incredibly concerned about air pollution in our city. Our eldest child suffers with chest issues and was under a consultant in the respiratory department for a few years. His chest issues always get worse in the colder months when domestic wood burning significantly worsens the air quality where we live. People still don’t seem to realise how polluting wood burning is. It’s hard not being able to protect your children from this. Sometimes I end up calling them in from the garden because the smoke is so strong which is sad as playing outside is really good for them. But I know it seeps into our house too, even with all the windows and doors closed. It upsets me a lot and makes me want to move but it seems to be a big problem in so many places.”
Looking at the national data, Jemima Hartshorn, Mums for Lungs, said:
“This is an air pollution emergency. Behind every number is a child who is struggling to breathe and a family looking for help. We cannot keep treating dirty air as inevitable or acceptable – our children deserve cleaner air around schools, nurseries, their homes and busy roads, and we need action now. We need to restore funding to tackle air pollution in the Budget and Government to bring down pollution across the country. Let’s be frank, non-essential wood burning and diesel vehicles have got to go. We all deserve to be healthy.”
She continued, “London being declared to be illegally polluted again – failing to comply with limits that should have been met 15 years ago. This has to be a wake-up call for our Mayor to continue the work he started which has seen pollution levels fall. We need to ensure we can swap the most polluting diesel vehicles for cleaner options: cars, vans and buses. And Government needs to stand up to industry and ensure non-essential wood burning is phased out without any further delay.”
As part of their national campaign, Mums for Lungs is calling for: action to reduce non-essential domestic wood burning; practical measures to reduce traffic-related air pollution, particularly around schools and other places where children spend time, including a transition away from diesel vehicles (cars, vans and buses); a clear, enforceable pathway towards World Health Organization air-quality guidelines at least in line with the EU and a public health campaign to raise awareness of air pollution, its sources and impact on everyone’s health.
Urgent need for cleaner air
Dr Elizabeth Wan, a resident doctor in North London and mother of a child with asthma, said: “As a local doctor and a mum, these numbers represent so much anxiety, pain and sadness for so many families. Children in London deserve better – they should not be punished with poor health simply because of where they live. We need cleaner air for all of us, and we need it urgently.”
Mums for Lungs hope that the upcoming Clean Air Night on 17th November will draw more attention to these shocking figure, especially as the young, who are particularly vulnerable have no agency in this issue and rely on adults taking action on their behalf to make this a child-centred focus.
