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169
Report of the Medical Officer (Education).
various medical officers of these institutions. The duties of all were standardised to a uniform basis,
a card system was decided to be the most useful form of records, and the question of a suitable scale
of salaries considered.
In these institutions the Council stands in loco parentis, and the whole care of the personal health
and hygiene of the children has to be supervised.
Places of detention from their very nature give rise to considerable difficulty. In 1897 by an order
of the Local Government Board, children could be ordered by two justices, or a magistrate, to be taken
under the Industrial Schools Act, 1866, to a workhouse or asylum of the district. The managers of
the Metropolitan Asylums Board, after consultation with the Local Government Board, decided that
it would be better to place the children so remanded in special homes. Under the Youthful Offenders
Act, 1901, provision was made for this. The Act only gave the magistrate the power of sending the
children to the remand homes after they had been brought before him, and after arrest children
frequently had to be kept at police stations till their appearance before the magistrates. The Children's
Act, 1908, made it compulsory that all children on arrest should be taken to remand homes. Children's
courts were established. The London County Council was made the authority of the remand homes
from the time the Act came into force, although actually they were not taken over till April, 1911,
when the term “place of detention” was substituted for “remand home." The original scheme only
admitted children from the sitting of the magistrates court, now they are admitted at any hour of the
day or night.
The duties of the medical officers to the homes originally were purely consultative, they were
only called in by the Superintendent when deemed necessary. Children entered, were bathed and
mixed with the other inmates at once. Latterly an endeavour has been made to keep all new admissions
apart-, until examined by the medical officer. Children on entering the home receive a warm bath and
clean clothes. Boys have their hair cut at once if verminous, girls only on the doctor's order. Only
those in contact with them can realise how untrained many of these children are in ordinary matters of
decency. All children under fourteen spend school hours in the schoolroom. Older children are given
occupation. Short periods of drill are also prescribed, although space is rather limited. In the evening
between the last meal and going to bed, reading or games are allowed. Boxing occasionally, especially
when a spirit of insubordination threatens to develop, helps to relieve excess of spirits. Since this was
introduced there have been very few attempts to escape. The food is plain and wholesome, and the
effect of a week's stay on the health of the children shows in their appearance. Those who stay longer
generally gain in weight and healthy appearance. Corporal punishment is rare. Detention in the
punishment room on low diet generally is sufficient.
Acute illnesses are rare. Infectious illness occurred several times during 1911. The girls' section
of the Pentonville home was closed twice for chicken-pox, one case of measles developed and a diphtheria
carrier was detected and isolated for two months before free from infectiousness. The dirt infections,
scabies, impetigo, pediculosis and ringworm are common. During the dusty season inflamed eyelids,
and septic sores of hands or feet were very common. No attempt has yet been made to analyse the
mental and physical conditions of these children, but this is a field which would well repay study, and
each child should have a thorough record made and its finger prints taken, for future reference.

A few of the children with chronic complaints not fit for a school are remanded again and again
to the place of detention. These children should be sent to an infirmary or hospital, as the places of
detention have few appliances or conveniences for treatment. The cases are, however, all treated and
sometimes with very good results.
Hop picking.
In reference to hop picking Dr. Williams states that whilst children of all ages go, the majority are
from 10 to 14 years of age. They are intellectually average children so far as the standard in the schools
shows. The absence is 14 to 16 days as a rule. The mother only accompanies the children in four fifths
of the cases, the father only in most of the others, or a few go with other relatives. The social position
of the children appears much better than would be expected, and normally they are much cleaner than
when returning from hop picking. None were much below average, and about one-fifth above in respect
to nutrition. The children appear to distinctly gain in health as compared with those who do not have
a holiday, but they practically all return verminous and there are many cases of septic affections such as
blight, blepharitis, and impetigo.
Dust,
As the standard of cleanliness is raised in school, this annual incursion of children in a verminous
condition, and many with septic conditions will have to be provided for, and the nurse sees all children
who have been “hopping" at her first visit after their return to school.
The dust from a ventilator in one of the classrooms at Gifford-street was examined bacteriologically
by Dr. Forbes. The ventilator is in a wall facing east and overlooking the backs of dwelling
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