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120
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1914.

The parents of 99 children were prosecuted and fines varying from 2s. to 10s. fid. with costs, were
imposed. The percentage in the schools in which the head scheme has been applied of children verminous
amongst children examined was 10.6 in 1914 as compared with 14.1 in 1913.
Verminous
persons and
clothing
The procedure for giving effect to Section 122 of the Children Act, 1908, affords opportunities
at each stage for parents voluntarily to send their children to a station for cleansing. To each child
found verminous was handed in a sealed envelope a card addressed to the parent drawing attention to
the condition and to the facilities for bathing. If advantage were taken of the facilities, each child
was, if necessary, given three baths, and in the event of a relapse into a verminous state the procedure
was repeated. If, however, the child was not sent for voluntary cleansing, or was not adequately treated
at home, a statutory notice under the Act was served. Again, opportunities for gratuitous cleansing
were offered, and if accepted a series of three baths was given to each child. If the verminous condition
complained of remained unremedied, compulsory cleansing became necessary and in order completely to
cleanse the head, the hair infected with nits was snipped off. Relapse after voluntary cleansing was
followed by the re-issue of the statutory notice, but relapse after compulsory cleansing resulted in police
court proceedings. In order to prevent negligent parents, who allow their children to relapse into a
dirty condition in the intervals between the nurses' visits, from claiming that they should be exempted
from the operation of the scheme, only two series of baths each were permitted at each stage.
There are now 24 stations for the cleansing of verminous children, two of which (Paradise-road
and Russia-lane) were, however, not opened until September. Of these, six were established by the
Council itself, 17 belong to borough councils with whom the Council has entered into agreement, and the
other belongs to the Committee of St. Cecilia's House, with whom an agreement has also been concluded.
The total number of examinations relating to persons and clothing made by the nurses under the
cleansing scheme proper was 917,582, and 28,361 children were found to be verminous to such an extent
as to call for action under the scheme; of these 14,392 were cleansed by the parents; the remainder
were dealt with at the cleansing stations and the following table shows the number of cleansings relating
to these 13,969 children carried out at each station.
Council Stations-
Central-street 3,039
Finch-street 3,571
Fountain-road 1,526
Paradise-road 651
Russia-lane 1,585
Sedlescombe-road 1,955
12,327
Other Stations—
Battersea 1,587
Bermondsey 2,894
Deptford 1,708
Greenwich 461
Hackney 1,507
Hampstead 226
Islington 2,520
Kensington 1,843
City of London 95
Poplar 1,408
St. Cecilia's House 1,605
St. Marylebone 1,773
St. Pancras 4,081
Southwark 3,956
Stoke Newington 373
Westminster 1,076
Woolwich 968
30,230
42,557