View report page

74
Immunisation—Measles—When vaccine was released by the Ministry, immunisation was
offered to children in Infant schools. Special sessions were held and vaccination was also undertaken
during school medical inspections. Six hundred and eighty-nine children between the ages of
four and seven years were vaccinated during the Summer term of 1968.
B.C.G. Vaccination—The vaccination scheme for schools continues to work smoothly and a
total of 25 secondary schools were visited during the year. In addition special programmes were
arranged in eight Colleges for Further Education with X-ray facilities provided by the Mobile Units
of the London Mass X-ray service. The attendance at some of these sessions was poor.
A high positive rate on skin tests was found in 4 schools in the Paddington and St. Marylebone
areas and special measures were taken for all pupils and staff to be screened.
School Medical Officers—Out of a total of 63 schools in Westminster, four are attended by general
practitioners, 16 by sessional medical officers other than general practitioners and forty three by
whole time medical officers. As far as possible full-time medical officers undertake examinations
at both child welfare and local junior schools in the area, thus providing continuity of medical care.
Diathermy—The clinic for diathermy treatment of verrucas continues to be well attended and
expands from one to two sessions weekly as the need arises. Six hundred and sixty-seven patients
were seen during this year.
Opportunity has been taken this year to include in greater detail statistics relating to various
aspects of school health work in the City of Westminster, together with totals for the whole of the
Inner London Education Authority area.
(Tables 50-56, pages 104-110).
DENTAL SERVICE
(Mr. Robert E. Kean, L.D.S., R.C.S.(I),
Chief Dental Officer and Principal School Dental Officer. Inner London Education Authority)
The pattern of events in the Council's dental services during the year 1968 continued in much
the same vein as the previous year, and notwithstanding intermittent staff shortages of both dental
officers and dental surgery assistants, the total number of sessions in the School and Maternal and
Child Welfare services increased from 2,117 in 1967 to 2,261 in the year under review.
The total number of first inspections in the schools and clinics increased to 12,490 as compared
with 11,484 during the previous year, but despite all the efforts of treatment and propaganda, the
percentage of children found to require treatment is disturbingly high at 64.6 per cent.; this pattern
appears to be more or less constant throughout all the schools in the Inner London Education
Authority.
The three main functions of local authority dental services are (a) prevention, (b) dental
health education and (c) treatment, the extent of the latter function being in direct ratio to the
effectiveness of the first two. The Chief Dental Officer has expressed the opinion on numerous
previous occasions, that until such time as the authority concerned will introduce the fluoridation
of our water supplies, the incidence of dental caries in children will continue at its present undesirably
high level. Since the children are the citizens of the future it must be obvious that apart from their
physical well-being, the saving to the Exchequer for dental treatment in the General Dental Services
would amply repay the introduction of this most vital preventive measure.
The staffing position remained reasonably satisfactory during the year but there were the usual
difficulties in recruiting and retaining Dental Surgery Assistants. The salary scale for this class of
officer is a nationally negotiated one and whilst it may be sufficient to attract trained staff in some
parts of the country it is quite inadequate for an area like Westminster where there is direct competition
with the many specialists in the Harley Street and Wimpole Street areas.
With a total staff of only six assistants to cover six surgeries the loss of one creates immediate
difficulties. In times of acute shortage members of the clerical staff from the School Health Section
at City Hall have assisted in the surgeries; whilst this help is much appreciated, it is only a "temporary
filling" and a fully-trained assistant is of course of far greater help to the dentist.
A special "weighting" allowance to recognise local difficulties would be helpful but this might
create difficulties during the present period of financial stringency.