Northern Ireland

Video: West Belfast paediatrician sees effect of poverty in children `every day' in emergency department

Dr Julie-Ann Maney, a consultant in paediatric emergency medicine at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, said she sees the effect of poverty in children in the emergency department "every day"
Dr Julie-Ann Maney, a consultant in paediatric emergency medicine at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, said she sees the effect of poverty in children in the emergency department "every day" Dr Julie-Ann Maney, a consultant in paediatric emergency medicine at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, said she sees the effect of poverty in children in the emergency department "every day"

A DOCTOR in west Belfast has said a government strategy to tackle child poverty in Northern Ireland is "essential".

Dr Julie-Ann Maney, a consultant in paediatric emergency medicine at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children said she sees the effect of poverty in children in the emergency department "every day".

The doctor, who was speaking out after writing an article on the issue, said they had seen 14-month-old infants "who are so hungry when you offer them toast and milk they stuff toast into their nappies because they know they are never going to see another bite".

"We had seven-year old children here who are so hungry we give them Rice Krispies, they eat three bowls of them," she said.

"Then they eat toast and then they’re worried `Am I going to get another bite today?"

Speaking to BBC NI's The View, Dr Maney said she had also seen children who have been "poor for years" and who have "chronic illnesses".

"They have iron deficiency, anaemia. They have constipation because their diets are so poor," she said.

"They have dental decay. You know, we have the highest rate of dental decay in the whole of the UK and the biggest cause for having a general anaesthetic in Northern Ireland is to have your teeth removed because they are rotten.

"Between 10 and 12 teeth are cleared out of children’s mouths every day in Northern Ireland because their diets are so poor and they’re so malnourished and it’s a disgrace".

A spokesman for the Department for Communities said the minister had recently announced the extension of the 2016/19 Poverty Strategy to May 2022.

He said this would "allow time for engagement on how to address child poverty in the longer term".