(continued from p17)
able to say we’ve done everything we can to give all of Scotland’s young people the best possible future.” And as the Scottish Parliament’s fifth session begins,
A
s the newly elected First Minister of Scotland, Sturgeon recently used a newspaper column to pledge: “Let’s all resolve that, when this parliament dissolves five years from now, we’ll be
“The
importance of relationships can't be
Holyrood heralds another beginning. Kirsty is our Holy- rood baby, a child born into one of Scotland’s most deprived communities. Every choice, priority and piece of legislation made by MSPs will have a
overestimated”
direct impact on Kirsty and her life chances, as she undertakes her journey from birth to school over the lifetime of this parliament. Will the Scottish Parliament do everything it can, as challenged by the First Minister? Holyrood will hold our parliament to that promise through the eyes of Kirsty and her mother. However, Kirsty faces an uphill struggle and poor prospects, having been born into one of Scotland’s most deprived communities. Evidence shows poverty has a negative impact on a child’s health, cogni-
tive development, social, emotional and behavioural development and educational outcomes. In fact, we are already quite far down Kirsty’s life-chances journey. While our new politicians were campaigning for election, Kirsty’s
circumstances were already having an impact on her life chances while she was forming in the womb. Kirsty is lucky. In the most deprived areas in Scotland
birthweights average 200g less than in the most afflu- ent. Smoking among mothers is much more likely, but at 7.6 pounds, Kirsty has been born a healthy weight. Stillbirths and mortality in the first week of life are twice as likely among low economic status groups as high ones. Folic acid, a B vitamin, helps develop a baby’s brain and spinal cord, but Kirsty’s mother, Caley, did not
take it as a supplement until week five, by which time any birth defects would have already occurred. Kirsty is lucky. Looking ahead, however, Kirsty is far less likely to perform well at school or be offered opportunities to fulfil her potential. She is more likely to be obese, have serious illness or suffer from mental ill-health by age three. And, starkly, Kirsty is expected to live almost a decade less than a girl born at the same time into one of Scotland’s wealthiest communities. However, Caley is determined to give her the best chance in life. She doesn’t want her to experience the same life she’s had. Dr Anne Mullin is a GP in Govan at one of the ‘deep-end’ practices which serve the most deprived communities in Glasgow and Dundee.
Voices Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director, Kirsty needs reliability
▏ What can we do to improve the life chances of the Holyrood baby? There are others who are way more
knowledgeable than I am on what the best interventions our politicians could bring to improve the life chances of our Holyrood baby. I imagine they will say that we need to make sure the baby lives in a nice house, has a nutritional diet, plenty of meaningful parental interac- tion, has a safe place to play, a good education. These are all vital parts of a public sector system that, when reliably delivered, will provide the best possible start for our baby. These are the ‘what’. My contribution is much more about the ‘how’. Life chances are still too dependent on chance than design. Reliable systems to deliver these interventions, that’s
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www.holyrood.com 23 May 2016
what I believe politicians should support and encourage. Reliability is one of the top qualities that our baby will wish for in life: a house that firmly stands through the weather, years, wear and tear; transport that gets them to work and home every day; healthcare that is available exactly where and when they need it; an education system that consistently delivers the best education for every child. How can politicians support their
delivery systems to be reliable in our increasingly complex and unstable world? Four things: 1. Encourage openness and transparency - and I’m not just talking about publish- ing performance data. I’m talking about nurturing a culture of learning, learning from others, and most importantly,
openly and proudly learning from mistakes and failures.
2. Continuously improve public service through methods which encourage empowerment, innova- tion, sharing and changes that are designed at the frontline.
3. Put the citizen: the patient, the pupil, the reoffender, at the centre of all redesign. Include them, ask them and use their advice.
4. Learn from the best. We should encourage learning from around the world. Scotland’s healthcare system has benefited from learning from as far afield as Cincinnati and Alaska, and in turn, they have learned from us. ⌞
Healthcare Quality and Strategy, Scottish Government
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