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102
1897]
"order that inquiries may at once be made with a view to proper steps being
"taken to prevent the children living in the same house or tenement from attend"ing
School."
"The Medical Officer of Health for the District must also at the same time
"be informed of the child's exclusion, and furnished with the name and address
"of the child, and the reason for its exclusion on a form with which the teachers
"will be supplied by the Head Office."
Last year you will recollect that the School Board and its officials not only did not
assist this Vestry in its efforts to limit the spread of an epidemic of Measles, but went out
of their way to retard them.
I sincerely trust that a similar policy will not be followed now.
On paper the School Board's Regulations for checking the spread of infectious diseases
are most admirable, but their execution is a lamentable failure, for either knowingly, or
through ignorance of their duties, the teachers habitually neglect to obey several of them,
and particularly that one (148, 2) as to forwarding information of a child's exclusion from
a school to the Medical Officer of Health.
I am inclined to the belief from inquiries I have recently made that the teachers have
acted through ignorance. If this be so then it seems to me that tho blame for failuro to
notify must rest on the officer whose duty it is to see that the School Board's own regulations
with respect to infectious diseases are duly obeyed, that is if there be such an officer.
Possibly if the School Board were written to they might direct their Medical Officer's
attention to the matter, if it should fall within the scope of his duties, when I have no
doubt a much needed reformation would be effected; one, too, which might be the means
of obviating the closure of schools against an alleged prevalence of Measles in a district in
which the Medical Officer of Health has not received any definite information of the extent
of the disease in his district, for he would then obtain early information, probably beforo
a death was registered, which at present is almost the first notice he receives, that the
disease had appeared therein.
Up to now the Sanitary Authorities have done everything for the Board Schools, and
it is, therefore, not too much to ask that the School Board should in turn assist in preventing
the spread of that disease from which the mortality amongst children is greater than
tho mortality from all tho notifiable diseases put together.
Since the above portion of this report was written I have received the following
telegram, dated October 25th, 6.20 p.m., from Professor Smith, tho Medical Officer of the
School Board:—
"Dr. Harris,
"Vestry Offices,
"Upper Street, Islington.
"Having received dotailed report from Head Mistress, I have advised
"immediate closure of the Infant School, Richard Street, which will take
"effect at once.
"SMITH."