CHILDREN might be allowed to sit on expert panels ruling on hospital closures under plans being considered by ministers that will comply with human-rights legislation.

Children in Scotland, an umbrella group representing 400 children's agencies, has said that under-16s should be appointed to independent “scrutiny panels” that will decide the future of NHS services including accident and emergency departments, surgical centres and maternity units.

According to the charity, the new advisory groups, comprising medical staff and members of the public, must include children to comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, that has already been ratified by the UK government.

Children in Scotland has told ministers that they are obliged by the UN convention to take children's views into account on all matters affecting them.

The charity says that, as users of the NHS, children must have a say in the way services are delivered.

The panels are to be set up in response to accusations that NHS boards have rigged previous consultations on closure programmes.

They will pass judgment on a variety of highly complex health services before they are put out to public consultation.

“As a matter of principle and good practice, the inclusion of children and young people should be ensured,” said the charity in its submission to the government. “We urge that the expert panels include children and young people.

“Not only should there be a designated number of places on the panels for children and young people, but the views of an appropriately representative group of children and young people should also be sought when the panels are considering evidence to make their decisions.

“Given proper training and support, children and young people could be involved in a way that is meaningful and beneficial to the panel and ultimately to NHS services.”

Children in Scotland, which is part of a cross-party group on children and young people at Holyrood, said it had no minimum age in mind.

“These are issues that the NHS could decide,” said a spokesman. “The important point is that children and young people have meaningful participation in the process.”

However, Stephen Neff, an expert in international human rights law at Edinburgh University, said the idea was “daft”.

“I would be very surprised if there was a provision in the convention entitling children to sit on policy-making bodies,” said Neff. “It sounds a little bit daft to me. Perhaps someone is doing a little bit of creative interpretation of the convention's vague language.”

Mary Scanlon, the Scottish Conservative health spokeswoman, added: “It's important to hear the views of children, particularly in relation to paediatric services, but it would be wholly inappropriate for children to make decisions on complex issues of health care in general.”

Ross Finnie, health spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said it would be impossible for the panels to reflect the views of all NHS users.

“The disabled, young people, those with long-term conditions and the elderly are just four groups of many using the NHS,” he said.

“I don't think you can construct panels that are mandated to take account of every major group.”

Public anger at health boards ignoring local opposition to hospital cuts was a big issue in last year's election campaign.

One of the SNP's key manifesto pledges was to keep open A&E departments at Monklands and Ayr hospitals, which had earmarked for closure.

It set up an independent scrutiny panel led by Dr Andrew Walker, a senior lecturer in health economics at Glasgow University, to review the decisions of NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Ayrshire.

In January, the panel's report concluded that neither health board had made a “convincing case for significant change to emergency services”.

A government spokeswoman said: “We are studying the consultation responses and will put out our response soon. That will include the way forward.”

Kidult justice is child's play, Gillian Bowditch, page 17

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