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Impaired Hearing in Young Children
Standard screening tests for the hearing of babies and young children were carried
out by medical staff with special training in this work. Any child thought to have impaired
hearing was referred, with the consent of the general practitioner, to the Council's
otologist for further examination. The names of such children were added to the
handicapped register.
Young children with impaired hearing who required a hearing environment and
children who failed to acquire speech because their parents were deaf or because of
language difficulties in the home, were, on the recommendation of the otologist permitted
to attend day nurseries for three hour sessions without charge.
Phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria is a rare inborn metabolic disorder in which a baby is born without
one of the essential chemicals that help to break down food for digestion: this
results in one of the ingredients of most foods building up to a high level in the body,
which may have a damaging effect on the brain. Screening tests for the detection of
phenylketonuria using "Phenistix" reagent strips were carried out routinely on all young
babies; those thought to be at special risk were retested. All positive and doubtful negative
results were checked by ferric-chloride test and referred to the hospital service for further
examinations if necessary.
Only one case of phenylketonuria was found in 1968, on routine retest of a child
aged 11 months. The necessary arrangements were made for dietery treatment and the
child was progressing normally at the end of the year.
Prophylaxis
Protection is offered in child health centres against diphtheria, whooping cough,
tetanus, poliomyelitis, smallpox and measles, to children below school age. Special
sessions are also held in schools where necessary. In addition B.C.G. vaccination against
tuberculosis of children aged 12 to 13 is carried out in schools. Vaccination may also be
carried out by the family doctor and vaccines are supplied to general practitioners free of
charge by the Council.
Early in the year the Department of Health and Social Security announced that
measles vaccine was being made available for the immunisation of all susceptible children
up to and including the age of 15 years, and called for support for a national campaign of
vaccination against the disease. Owing to a shortage of supplies of vaccine in the early
stages of the campaign, local health authorities were asked to plan their arrangements on
the basis that in May, June and July vaccination against measles would be offered only
to susceptible children between their 4th and 7th birthdays and to susceptible children
attending day nurseries, nursery schools and residential establishments who were between
their 1st and 7th birthdays.
Wide publicity was given to the campaign and special arrangements were made for
vaccination in schools. (See also the report on the School Health Service).
Vaccination against measles was restricted to the 4 to 7 years age group for the
remainder of the year owing to continued limitation of supplies of vaccine. The acceptance
rate was disappointing and the numbers vaccinated were approximately half of the
estimated numbers of susceptible children in that age group.
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