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67
To the Chairman and Members of the
HORNSEY EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
Madam Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report for the
year ending 1938 on the work of the School Medical Service.
Medical inspection in all the elementary schools of the
Borough was carried out in accordance with the Board of
Education's requirements, and all the services at the School
Clinic have been in active opration throughout the year.
On "24th February the St. Mary's Infants' School was closed
on account of an outbreak of measles followed by whooping
cough. It is very rarely indeed that an elementary school has
to be closed now on account of infectious disease. The reason
for the closure of St. Mary's Infants' School was that children
weakened by an attack of measles should not be unnecessarily
exposed to the risk of infection with whooping cough on return
to school. The school re-opened again on 14th March and it
has maintained its usual good record of health.
The statistical tables required by the Board of Education
appear at the end of this report. Figures referring to one
year are not in themselves very informative as to the direction
in which progress is being made in various departments of this
work. For this reason I have prepared special reports which
accompany this annual report. These refer to: —
(1) The number of mentally defective children in
attendance at Oak Lodge Joint Special School from 1916
to 1938.
(2) The number of blind and partially blind children
being treated in special schools from 1913 to 1938.
(3) The number of cases of diagnosed tuberculosis
amongst elementary school children from 1913 to 1938.
(4) The work of the School Dental Department from
1929 to 1938.
(5) Operations for the removal of tonsils and adenoids
from 1920 to 1938.
These reports together indicate victories in the field of
preventive medicine over such conditions as blindness, bovine