London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The foregoing table does not, however, express to the full the amount of defects found; in the
cases referred back only the chief defect is recorded, but of these 63 (boys, 16; girls, 47) were for two
defects and 11 (boy, 1; girls, 10) for three defects, the percentage of the number of cases referred
back for more than one defect on the total number of referred cases being 25.9 (boys, 20.2 per cent.;
girls, 28.3 per cent.). In the case of probationer scholars, the examination has to be somewhat stricter
than with junior scholars. Articulation which was hopelessly bad was a cause of rejection. On the
other hand several doubtful cases, including the following, were passed after the parents had been
made thoroughly alive as to the defects of their children and the need of remedy ; for instance, of 8 girls,
2 had lateral curvature, 2 had middle ear disease, 1 had severe anaemia, another had hernia, spinal
curvature and defective vision, the seventh had heart disease (double mitral murmur), and the eighth
recent bronchitis. One boy was accepted who had slightly dilated heart.
Special Scholars. —Special scholarships include domestic economy, gardening, trade, technical, blind, deaf, cripple, and boy artificers for the Royal Navy. They were noted as follows—
| Age. | Number examined. | Number of examinations. | Fit. | Vaccination. | Referred back. | Rejected. | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unvaccinated. | No marks. | Want of cleanliness. | Throat. | Teeth. | Vision. | Heart. | Sundry. | |||||||||||||||||
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) | (10) | (11) | (12) | (13) | ||||||||||||
| B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | B. | G. | |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | –- | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | —– | ||||||||||||
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 12 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 3 | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||||
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 13 | 31 | 35 | 23 | 2 | – | – | – | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | |||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 14 | 62 | 74 | 46 | 4 | 1 | – | 5 | 8 | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 112 | 152 | 58 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 30 | 12 | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 15 | 65 | 74 | 41 | 7 | 1 | – | 2 | 5 | 7 | – | – | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 63 | 74 | 44 | 5 | – | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | – | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 16 | 54 | 58 | 40 | 4 | – | 1 | – | 7 | 5 | – | – | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 23 | 25 | 20 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| Over 16 | 41 | 42 | 36 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | – | 1 | – | ||||||||||||
| 24 | 25 | 19 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| Totals | 271 | 302 | 200 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 29 | 21 | – | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| 223 | 277 | 142 | 9 | 3 | 21 | 9 | 42 | 17 | – | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Grand Totals | 494 | 579 | 342 | 30 | 5 | 22 | 19 | 71 | 38 | – | 4 | 12 | ||||||||||||
Of the 151 cases referred back 20 (boys, 6; girls, 14) were for two defects and 1 (girl) for three
defects, the percentage of the number of cases referred back for more than one defect on the total
number of referred cases being 13.9 (boys 8.6 per cent.; girls, 18.5 per cent.). It may be noted that
one of the cases accepted for the gardening scholarships had high myopia (-14 dioptres) and that one
of the blind scholars was also deaf. Seven boy artificers for the Royal Navy had to be rejected for
comparatively trivial defects.
Visits to Schools and Homes.—The average number of visits to schools and homes
recorded separately each week by officers of this department is as follows:—
1st April, 1907, to 31st March, 1908:—
| Special Schools. | Ordinary Schools. | Domiciliary and Special enquiries. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Officer and assistants | 21 | 60 | 14 |
| Thirty-two nurses and superintendent | 301 | 143.3 | |
1st April to 31st December, 1908:—
| Special Schools. | Ordinary Schools. | Domiciliary and Special enquiries. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Officer and assistants | 29 | 51 | 10 |
| Thirty-two nurses and superintendent | 310.6 | 140.5 | |