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63
In nutrition and in soundness of teeth and vision,
Bethnal Green children are under the average for
London. There can be no doubt this is mainly due
to economic causes, which is certainly responsible for
the fact that only 20.9 per cent, of Bethnal Green
children are well clothed and shod compared with 58.2
per cent. throughout London. The irony of this situation
is that the clothing and boot and shoe trades are
two important local industries in which there is much
unemployment. It is encouraging to note that in cleanliness
Bethnal Green does not differ materially from the
general London average. These figures as a whole,
however, are a plain demonstration that there is a lack
of adequate medical care of young children in the years
immediately preceding their attendance at school.
To remedy this requires some extension of the present
facilities for the supervision of "the toddler'' and
closer relations between the Maternity and Child Welfare
and School Medical Services. The routine medical
inspection of toddlers by Dr. Horton, the full-time
Medical Officer, which Avas instituted from the beginning
of 1932 is a small contribution to the solution of the
problem, but increased staff and premises are required
for it to be tackled thoroughly.