Daily roundup 28 November: Baby deaths, junk food, and mental health

The NHS in England must do better at learning from mistakes if it is to cut the number of baby deaths and injuries in childbirth, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said. The BBC reports that there are an estimated 1,000 cases a year where babies unexpectedly die or are left with severe brain injury out of nearly 700,000 births, which, Hunt said, showed the NHS provided safe care for most. But he added that all unexplained cases of serious harm or death will now be independently investigated.


Health experts have renewed calls to ministers to tighten up rules restricting the broadcast of adverts for foods high in fat, sugar and salt, after research revealed that children are seeing as many as 12 advertisements for junk food within an hour while watching family television shows. The Guardian reports that Liverpool University researchers found that children as young as four are seeing ads for pizza, burgers, sweets and biscuits in breaks during shows such as Hollyoaks and The Simpsons.


Ethnic minority children are less likely than their white counterparts to access traditional mental health services, according to new research. The Independent reports that a study by the Education Policy Institute reveals BAME children are considerably more likely to access counselling services if they are online and can remain anonymous. The study analysed the demographics of users of an NHS-commissioned online counselling platform for children and young people.


Mandatory reporting of sexual misconduct and abolishing the secrecy of the priest's confessional box are needed to protect children at Catholic schools, the national inquiry into child sexual abuse has been told. The Guardian reports that Richard Scorer, of the law firm Slater and Gordon, who represents 27 core participants at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, said the failure to make reporting suspected abuse a crime had allowed clerics to evade responsibility.


A leading expert on the employment of au pairs in the UK has described the way in which they are recruited as "like the Wild West". The BBC reports that Dr Rosie Cox, of Birkbeck, University of London, is calling for action to prevent them from being exploited. Dr Cox said there could be up to 100,000 au pairs in the UK, with about 75 per cent based in London and the South East.