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Once again over ten thousand children had a Periodic medical
inspection during the year. This represents over one-third of the
school population of the Area. 2697 pupils were found to require
treatment, and this number does not include those requiring treatment
for vermin infestation and dental disease. In the Appendix to this
report will be found an analysis of the conditions requiring treatment
and it will be seen that by far the greatest number of these is vision
at 1684. This is not to say that this defect had not been discovered
previously; in fact, a large proportion of visual defects had already
been detected at previous examination, but it was still necessary to
record the defects as requiring treatment. The same principle
applies to other defects listed. Undoubtedly a number of new defects
are discovered at each examination and the proper treatment instituted,
but it is inescapable that a large part of the time of school medical
officers is concerned with checking the progress of established defects.
In this Area, periodic medical inspections are carried out four
times during the pupils' school life. Some consider this to be
unproductive work and maintain that the school medical officer's time
could be used to better advantage. In certain parts of the country
interesting experiments are taking place with selective medical inspections.
The details of the system vary from place to place but in
the main depend on a full medical inspection of all entrants followed
up from time to time by inspection of those children selected by
medical officers as a result of answers to questionnaires sent to the
parents and as a result of referral by head teachers and others.
The system demands very close co-operation between teachers and
school medical officers, requiring frequent visits to schools and it
takes into account the results of hygiene surveys by school nurses.
It is believed that selective medical examinations will eventually
replace periodic medical inspections, and the results of the experiments
in other authorities will be received with interest.
B.C.G. Vaccination