SCOTLAND needs up to 110 extra paediatric consultants over the next five years to ensure that sick children get the medical care they need.
A leading medic warned that paediatricians in Scotland are “under too much pressure” as an audit revealed shortages of consultants to cover peak times in paediatric units with half of Scottish units having consultant cover for less than 12 hours a day on weekdays.
The report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health also criticised "poorly linked children's health services" across the UK and suggested that making paediatric expertise available to patients earlier in their care could "help mitigate the rising attendance of children and young people to urgent and emergency care settings".
It comes after figures revealed that the number of children being admitted to hospitals in Scotland reached an all-time high of 310,496 in 2017 despite there being no evidence of an increase in child ill health. The trend was blamed on a reduction in GP availability.
Read more: Children's ward to close to inpatients amid doctor shortage
The children's ward at St John's Hospital in Livingston has also been closed to inpatient admissions since last summer because it has struggled to recruit enough consultant paediatricians to safely cover the rota.
The report said at least 465 junior doctors a year should be entering paediatrics training across the UK every year for the next five years in order to ensure that there were enough new recruits to offset retirements and increasing demand.
It said the Scottish Government must fund an increase in the number of paediatric trainee places to expand the paediatrics workforce to cover the equivalent of 84 to 110 full-time posts, taking into account that some medics will work part-time.
Read more: Staff shortages at children's ward mean it is still 'not safe' to reopen
Dr Steve Turner, RCPCH's officer for Scotland, said: “We’ve been saying for quite some time that paediatricians in Scotland are under too much pressure.
"It is down to their dedication and passion for the job that has enabled them to deliver the quality of care that they are today.
"We cannot carry on this way. The service needs to change to accommodate the increasing number of unwell children sent to hospital, and also the increasing complexity of many children.
“As our audit shows, paediatric units are not able to meet many of the key standards required– units are struggling to provide specialist advice at all times and they struggle to safely staff rotas and they cannot deliver the two consultant led handovers required."
The report highlights variations in performance across the UK, with Scotland performing better in some areas and worse in others.
Read more: SNP Government doing 'far better than Westminster' on child health
No Scottish paediatric unit was able to offer full consultant cover during peak times on weekdays, compared to nearly half of those in England. Half of paediatric units in Scotland also had consultant cover for less than 12 hours a day, the lowest of any of the four nations.
However, Scotland had some of the best sharing of patient electronic records between different health professionals and 40 per cent of paediatric units in Scotland held regular meetings bringing together experts in various fields and children's parents or carers to analyse the cause of sudden unexpected or critical incidents and complaints. In England, only a quarter of units held these reviews regularly.
Scotland was also praised for a "more integrated" approach between regions.
Health Secretary Shona Robison has offered to meet with RCPCH to discuss their concerns.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “NHS staff numbers are at a record high and since 2007 we have seen an increase of over 90 per cent in paediatric consultants.
"We want to continue to deliver safe, high quality services for children and are we are leading the way on workforce planning as the first nation to publish a national health and care workforce plan.”
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