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destroy where necessary, school books which have been exposed to
infection at private houses; that they consider however, that, in the
interest of the public health, they should have some guarantee of the
destruction of such books, and have accordingly made it a condition
that in the event of the Council requesting the destruction of any book,
the work shall be carried out under the immediate supervision of the
Medical Officer of Health for the district. They also requested that,
in cases where the City Council do not consider it necessary for the
books to be destroyed, they may be disinfected and returned to the
school to which they belong.
The sanitary arrangements of 8 schools were improved or re-constructed
during the year.
Medical Inspection of School Children.— The Education Act, 1907,
makes provision for the inspection of children about the time of their
admission to a public elementary school and at such other times as the
Board of Education may direct, and also to make such arrangements as
may be sanctioned for attending to their health and physical condition.
The Board of Education has issued a memorandum on the subject
(Circular No. 576), in which they point out the necessity for this work
being done in close relationship with the Sanitary Authority. In
London the Medical Officer of the county is primarily responsible, but
the opinion has been expressed that the work should be carried on
through the Medical Officers of the various Metropolitan Boroughs. At
present no steps have been taken, but hitherto the County Council has
had a staff of medical men attending to school and working independently
of the Local Authorities, both being in ignorance of what the
other was doing.
In the Soho part of Westminster the Health Society has been able to
co-operate with the School Managers and Teachers, and in this way 175
children over 4 years of age and 96 under that age were looked after;
steps were taken to ensure that they received necessary medical attention,
convalescent treatment, the services of a nurse, surgical appliances, &c.,
either by making arrangements for people able to pay for themselves,
or through various relief agencies. If the bad health of the children
seems due to insanitary conditions these are notified to nxe, while bad
home conditions, such as dirty bedding and floors, carelessness as
regards keeping of food, cleanliness of children, &c, are dealt with by
the visitors at frequent visits.
A number of children with vermin in their heads were visited at
the request of the Education Committee. It is found that the parents
will at once take the necessary steps to cleanse the children's heads
when requested by the officials of the Sanitary Authority, though they
have previously ignored the requests and advice of the teachers.