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51
CHAPTER II.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL MEDICAL OFFICER FOR THE YEAR 1927.
By F. N. Kay Menzies, M.D., F.R.C.P.(Ed.), D.P.H., F.R.S.E., County Medical
Officer of Health and School Medical Officer.
Staff.
The organisation of the medical staff under the Medical Officer of Health and
School Medical Officer approved by the Council on 25.1.27 embraces five divisions
of work. Of these division II. is wholly, and divisions IV. and V. partly, concerned
with school medical work.
Division II. (Senior Medical Officer, Dr. C. J. Thomas) includes the medical
inspection of school children (including secondary and trade schools); medical and
dental treatment and cleansing of school children ; open-air, etc., schools. The
staff in this division comprises 1 Chief Aurist (Dr. A. G. Wells, Principal Assistant
Medical Officer), 1 part-time Consulting Dental Surgeon (Dr. A. Livingston), 1
part-time Principal Assistant Medical Officer (Dr. B. Tchaykovsky), 7 Divisional
Medical Officers, 23 Assistant Medical Officers, 2 half-time Assistant Aurists, 14
Assistant Medical Officers (6 sessions a week), 38 Assistant Medical Officers (3 sessions
a week), 25 temporary Medical Officers (part-time) for 111 sessions a week, 8
Medical Officers (part-time) at open-air and tuberculous schools, 265 Surgeons
and Anaesthetists at treatment centres, 60 Inspecting Dentists (part-time).
Division IV. (Senior Medical Officer, Dr. F. C. Shrubsall) includes medical
examination of scholarship candidates, etc., reference cases, Mental Deficiency Act,
special schools, Blind Persons Act. The staff allocated to this division includes
2 part-time Consulting Surgeons (Mr. P. M. Yearsley and Mr. K. J. Acton Davis),
1 part-time Ophthalmic Consultant (Mr. N. Bishop Harman) and 2 Divisional
Medical Officers.
Division V. (Senior Medical Officer, Dr. J. A. H. Brincker) deals with infectious
disease administration, bacteriology, diagnosis of smallpox, plague, cholera, etc. In
this division is 1 Principal-assistant Medical Officer (Dr. J. G. Forbes) and 1 Medical
Consultant (Dr. W. McC. Wanklyn).
The school nursing service (Division II.) includes one Superintendent of School
Nurses, 6 Divisional Superintendents and 350 Nurses.
School Buildings.
Under the "40 and 48" scheme the Council pursues a steady policy, not only
of provision of places by means of new schools and enlargements, but also of
modernisation of old schools and by these means the sanitary condition of provided
schools is steadily being improved.
Of the 23 new schools and enlargements, providing about 12,000 places, and
the 18 cases of school modernising to be completed under the three years' programme
of 1925-1928, all, it is anticipated, will be completed by 1st September, 1928. The
reduction of classrooms to the " 40 and 48 " basis has now taken place in 81.9 per cent,
of cases—i.e., 10,465 out of 12,671 classrooms in provided schools are on the reduced
basis, and 2,792 out of 3,521 classrooms in non-provided schools.
For the 10,000 new school places projected under the new three-year programme,
1927-1930, already 21 out of 38 sites required are cleared and available for building,
and three schools are in process of being built.
There were 40 complaints in regard to sanitation and hygiene of schools investigated
by the medical department during the year. These related in 7 cases
to defective lighting, 5 to ventilation, 3 to defective heating, 8 to sanitary offices and
nuisances from smells, etc., 1 to presence of vermin, 6 to provision of desks, desking,
Progress of
improvement
programmes
Complaints of
sanitation.