Mums for Lungs Manchester and a group of health professionals and campaigners gathered outside Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital this morning to call on Andy Burnham – the Mayor of Greater Manchester – and the UK Government to act on air pollution
The group would like to see an ambition towards meeting WHO targets on air pollution and a plan to phase out the many diesel cars and vans in Greater Manchester, where a Clean Air Zone has not been implemented.
Not only does Manchester have the worst levels of NO2 in the country it has the worst by some margin. The levels of 55 μgm⁻³ is nearly 20% higher than Birmingham and Coventry where the second worst levels can be found.
Alarmingly, of all the towns and cities in exceedance of NO2 levels, Manchester is the only place when that exceedance is increasing year on year.
Mums for Lungs have also found that, in Manchester, the numbers of children aged three or under admitted to hospital or attending outpatient services with serious breathing problems has jumped by a third (33%) from 654 to 872.
Dr Alice Willson, a Paediatric registrar based in Manchester said: ‘The evidence is undeniable: air pollution is having a serious impact on children’s health in Manchester and across the UK. We are seeing far too many young people being treated in hospitals for conditions that are entirely preventable.
‘From before birth, children are exposed to toxic air that can damage their lungs, increase the risk of asthma and infections, and even affect their brain development and learning. As a health professional, I witness the consequences daily – children suffering from avoidable illnesses – and I can’t help but wonder why decisive action still hasn’t been taken to protect them.’
A copy of the letter that was delivered to Parliament this morning will be sent to Afzal Khan MP, Labour MP for Manchester Rusholme, who has agreed to organise a summit with NHS professionals and campaigners on air quality.
Afzal Khan MP said: ‘No one should suffer with health issues because of air pollution. We must be sure our children are protected from the preventable illnesses that toxic air can cause. Mancunians deserve to live happy, healthy lives and I am proud to support the work of Mums for Lungs and many other campaigners who are demanding action on improving our air quality.’
Hilary Judd, a parent who lives in South Manchester said: ‘I can taste and smell the air pollution on my cycle to work and whilst doing the school run. It’s a huge source of anxiety as a parent knowing the effects this is having on all the local children. My son who is now 6 has recently had a really scary asthma attack where he struggled to breathe and now unfortunately has inhalers to manage it. We need to be doing better for our whole community as the quality of the air we breathe affects everyone.’
Liz Godfrey, a parent of two, who runs the Manchester Mums for Lungs group, added: ‘Air pollution is putting children’s health at risk every single day – and nowhere is this more urgent than in Greater Manchester. Kids are growing up breathing toxic air that’s making them sick, something medics see every day. That’s why we’ve joined forces on this call to action. The Government must step up now and adopt the WHO’s clean air guidelines to protect our children’s futures.’
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