Letter

Life north of Watford

Dear healthmatters — I have recently moved to the north west of England and started work as a paediatric registrar in area that suffers one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. The contrast with the south east of England is striking. Children are frequently admitted with severe infectious diseases, whooping cough is a common complaint — something poles apart from areas of the country with high immunisation rates.

There is little or no attempt to address the problem of the poor — those children with poorly-educated parents, living in damp housing estates with few community services. These are the ones at high risk of failure to thrive and even of dying. But once again the government has been more concerned with saving money instead of lives.