HEALTH bosses have called for much higher priority to be given to the prevention of road accidents involving children.

The call came during a children's health debate on Teesside.

Every year 1,200 children attend an accident and emergency department on Teesside as a result of road accidents.

Professor Paul Johnstone, director of public health for Tees Health Authority, said twice as many children were being injured on the roads as were being reported to the police.

The call for action on road safety was made in Prof Johnstone's annual report on the state of public health on Teesside, which this year focuses on children. With the significant differences in injury rates to under-16s according to wealth and poverty, "priority should be given to reduce road injuries to children living in these areas of high socio-economic deprivation", said Prof Johnstone.

"Given that four times as many children and young people up to the age of 19 die on the roads in Teesside than from meningitis, the prevention of this waste of life demands far more attention than it currently receives," he added.

The report, called Kids' Stuff, was launched at the Tall Trees hotel in Yarm before an audience of local children, who later took part in a debate on health.

Prof Johnstone's three main recommendations are:

l The prevention of death and injury to children on the roads needs to become a higher priority; l Schools need to be given more help to strengthen the educational attainment of children and to boost health education;

l The Local Strategic Partnerships and new Primary Care Trusts need to develop Health Action Zone projects, Sure Start and similar initiatives.

Prof Johnstone said while there was some evidence that overall levels of inequality were being reduced there were still huge differences between the health of children living in poor and affluent areas.