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92
SECTION IX.
REPORT TO THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
1. STAFF.
For the first time since the outbreak of war the staff engaged in
medical work amongst school children was entirely permanent. In
addition to the School Medical Officer, who is also Medical Officer of
Health, the staff consisted of three whole-time Medical Officers, one
part-time X-Ray Specialist, one part-time Ophthalmic Surgeon, eight
part-time Nose and Throat Surgeons, two part-time Dentists, and nine
School Nurses. The Organizer of Physical Training in the Elementary
Schools acted also as supervisor of remedial exercises. The Medical
Officers devote part of their time only to school work. A Masseuse
holding certificates in Massage, Medical Electricity and Remedial
Exercises was appointed in the latter part of the year. Towards the
end of the year also an Elementary school teacher, after receiving
special training at Manchester, was appointed to undertake the treatment
of children suffering from certain forms of speech defect.
Dr. H. Gordon Smith resigned in April, and Dr. Ian C. Mackay
was appointed in August to fill the vacancy.
At the commencement of the year the work of the school medical
service was re-organized. Hitherto the medical inspection schedules
had, on completion at routine inspections, been retained in boxes at
the schools. The Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education in
his Annual Report for the year 1918 indicated that certain statistical
information would be desired from School Medical Officers when
submitting their Annual Reports for 1920 and subsequent years. To
facilitate the extraction of the necessary figures and, moreover, to
enable the medical staff to have ready access for the purpose of
reference to the health record of any child who had been examined
while attending elementary schools, a scheme for re-organization by
which all inspection schedules became filed in my office was submitted
to, and subsequently approved by, the Education Authority. The
scheme demanded some additional clerical work on the part of the
Head Teachers, and it is a pleasure for me to record here the willing
co operation of the teachers in this respect.