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
Bromley 1941
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bromley]
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35
SECTION A. MEDICAL INSPECTIONS.
The total number of routine medical inspections
at schools: 1,291
(a) Entrants 526.
(b) Second Age Group 357
(c) Third Age Group 362
(d) Other routine
inspections 46
The total number of special inspections and re-inspections
at school clinics 4,768.
In the early part of the year owing to raids many
children had been voluntarily evacuated to quieter areas,
thus appointment lists for inspections were disorganised
and failures to keep appointments were frequent.
FINDINGS AT MEDICAL INSPECTIONS.
MALNUTRITION AND CLEANLINESS.
The following table summarises the statistics of the past three years:
| 1941 | 1940 | 1919 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrition Standard. | No. of Children. | Per Cent. | No. of Children. | Per Cent. | No. of Children. | Per Cent. |
| Excellent | 95 | 7.63 | 126 | 8.36 | 102 | 9.38 |
| Normal | 1049 | 84.25 | 1262 | 83.75 | 853 | 78.47 |
| Subnormal | 100 | 8.03 | 117 | 7.76 | 109 | 10.03 |
| Bad | 1 | 0.08 | 2 | 0.13 | 23 | 2.12 |
In discussing the subject of malnutrition one is sorely
tempted to preface one's remarks with the trite saying "it
all depends wafitfc you mean by malnutrition". There are so
many factors to be assessed: underfeeding, bad home
Management, the inter-currence of disease or here-ditary,
are some of the essential factors. The nutritional
standard in Bromley, taken as a whole, is good, and
during the past three Joars we ars we have been unable to detect
any obvious deterioration in the nutrition of the children,
Conditions of ill-nutrition are slow in developing and any
serious deterioration of nutrition would be disclosed
trough increased severity and fatality of the commoner
ailments, and this is not occurring at the present time.
Reference to provision of meals appears in Section
C of this Report.