Child abuse findings in Porirua increase, while national cases trend down

File photo / NZ Herald.

Oranga Tamariki continues to find child abuse in Porirua at a higher rate than nationally.

Homes in Porirua are also more likely to be crowded or damp compared to those across the country.

Porirua City Council has released its fourth annual Status Report on the wellbeing of children and young people.

It paints a grim picture for the 40 per cent of people living in the city under the age of 25.

Mayor Anita Baker said child poverty was already a national crisis before Covid-19 and without urgent action there was a risk the situation would turn into a catastrophe.

"Whether it's school attendance, oral health, hospital visits or social housing waiting lists, the report paints a grim picture. These indicators weren't looking good even before Covid. The danger now is that they accelerate in the wrong direction."

Baker urged political party leaders to use the 2020 election campaign to outline their plan to address the "persistent and growing scourge of poverty in New Zealand".

"While councils don't have the resources or authority to address most of these issues head-on, Porirua won't shirk from its advocacy role", she said.

The number of children with substantiated findings of abuse by Oranga Tamariki in Porirua has increased by 22 per cent in the five years ending June 2019, the report said.

But national findings of abuse have reduced by 6 per cent over the same period.

The perception that Porirua is a safe place to live has been steadily trending down from 96 per cent to 83 per cent during that time.

The report also found homes in Porirua are more likely to be crowded than homes nationally.

Pacific people are much more likely to find themselves in this situation than other ethnicities and nationally- nearly 1 in 4 in Porirua compared to 1 in 9 in New Zealand.

Meanwhile a quarter of Porirua homes are either always or sometimes damp compared to 22 per cent of homes nationally.

The perception that Porirua is a safe place to live has been trending down from 96 per cent in 2015 to 83 per cent in 2019. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

Wesley Community Action director of David Hanna said the situation was very serious.

The key problem was when financial stresses, relationship issues and health difficulties became a cluster of pressure, he said.

"The compounding effect of that means that often stress gets passed down the system and it's the child, the youngest one in the family, is the one who often receives the impact of all that negativity.

"Abuse falls on the most vulnerable in the household."

Oral health was also an area of concern identified in the report.

Tooth decay is one of the three leading causes of potentially avoidable hospitalisations among children in New Zealand.

The number of 5 year olds with tooth decay in Porirua remains high, in line with the national trend.

Hutt Valley DHB data shows 60 per cent of Maori children in Porirua had decay in their teeth at age 5.

Pacific children of the same age tracked even higher with 74 per cent presenting with decay.

Both groups are much higher than children of other ethnicities, including European/Pakeha, with just 21 per cent presenting with decay.

"There are significant and persistent ethnic disparities in the number of children with tooth decay at age five", the report said.

"Tooth decay impacts on children's health, causes pain and suffering and often requires surgical extraction."

Along with dental conditions, the most common reasons for hospital admissions that could have been avoided with earlier access to primary health care for under-fives were respiratory infections and asthma.

These types of admissions have increased in Porirua by 7 per cent between 2017 and 2018. Maori children aged under five in the city were the most like to be admitted to hospital for preventable conditions.