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34
Personal Hygiene.
The duties of the school nurses with regard to cleansing were steadily pursued throughout the
year, but the absence on war duty of a large number of the more experienced nurses has naturally affected
the work to some extent. The duties consist of a general inspection of the children, and the application
of the Council's schemes for dealing with those who are found to be (1) verminous in head only; (2)
verminous in body and clothing; (3) suffering from scabies. The schemes have been set out in detail
in previous reports.
Pota visits
General
inspection.
A complete record of the number of examinations and the conditions found was made, and the
following figures show the amount of work done: number of examinations, 2,399,280; number found
clean, 1,786,621; number found verminous, 612,659; percentage found verminous, 25.5 per cent.
The number found verminous includes all degrees of unsatisfactory conditions from the case of a few
nits on the hair, to cases of head, body, and clothing infested with pediculi.
Verminous
heads.
The number of exanunations conducted under the scheme for dealing with verminous heads
only, was 4,440; 3,360 were found clean; 613 slightly dirty; 467 were verminous. The parents of 39
children were prosecuted, and fines varying from 2s. 6d. to 10s., with costs, were imposed. The percentage,
in the schools where the head scheme has been applied, of children verminous amongst children
examined, was 10.5 in 1916, as compared with 10.0 in 1915. The number of examinations conducted
under this scheme has been greatly decreased, owing to the fact that it is now possible to include many
outlying schools under the general scheme, and to convey the children attending such schools to the
cleansing stations by means of ambulances.
Verminous
persons and
clothing.
Ihere are 24 stations for the cleansing of verminous children. The total number of examinations
made by the nurses under the cleansing scheme proper was 988,228, and 24,705 children were found to
be verminous to such an extent as to call for action under the scheme; of these, 11,314 were cleansed
by the parents; the remainder, 13,391 children, were dealt with at the cleansing stations; 19,395
cleansings were carried out at the Council's stations, and 35,550 at stations of the local sanitary authorities.
This number is an increase of 11,061, or 25.3 per cent., when compared with the number for 1915. The
parents of 236 children were prosecuted, and fines varying from 2s. to lis., with costs, were imposed.
Of the total number of children cleansed, 1,373 were conveyed by the Council's ambulances. These
ambulances are drawn by horses, and as the children must be conveyed during school hours, a considerable
amount of valuable time was spent in travelling. To overcome this objection, the Council has decided to
substitute a motor vehicle for the two omnibuses, and it is anticipated that it will now be possible to
deal with 35 schools a week, instead of 20, as at present.
At each stage of the scheme, a notice indicating the condition in which a child is found, is sent
to the local sanitary authority in order that action may be taken with regard to clothing and bedding
in the home under the London Cnnntv Clnunc.il Crpnornl Powers Act 1904. Part IV.
???bies.
The arrangements for the bathing of children suffering from scabies were continued. The total
number dealt with during the year was 3,213, an increase of 2,154, when compared with the figures
of the previous year, and of 11,241 in the total number of baths given. Cases in which the family has
been found infected after the visit of a soldier, have come under the notice of the school medical staff,
and the number of cases of scabies amongst school children dealt with at the cleansing stations has, as
will be seen from the figures given, larcelv increased.
Country
Holiday
Fund.
The school nurses again assisted the executive committee of the Children's Country Holiday
Fund by examining for the detection of any infectious disease (e.g., ringworm), or any form of uncleanliness,
the children whom it was proposed to send to the country as soon as the summer vacation began.
Secondary
schools.
The personal hygiene scheme in girls' secondary schools and kindred institutions has continued
in operation. The scheme was applied also to one boys' school, but no verminous heads were found.
The proportion of verminous heads found in the girls' schools was 4.1 per cent., a decrease of .9 per cent,
when compared with the figures for 1915.
-A
Examinations of Candidates and Medical 'Inspection in Higher Education Institutions.
The total number of candidates medically examined was 5,396, a decrease of 354, when compared
with the figures for 1915. In addition to the foregoing examinations, 1,420 references in regard to
the health of employees in the Council's service were considered. This number shows an increase
of 131 when compared with the figures for the previous year.
The medical inspection of pupils in L.C.C. training colleges and secondary and trade schools
and of pupils in attendance at non-maintained secondary schools was continued, and the results are
given in Appendix I. The pupils in the secondary schools are, for the period of the war, however,
medically inspected biennially, instead of annually, and during the year under consideration, it was
only possible to inspect those who had not been formerly examined; those who were not examined in
the year 1915; those who were found at previous examinations to be suffering from defects; and those
in regard to whom the head master (or mistress) desired to consult the doctor.
Infectious Diseases.
Scarlet fever
and
diphtheria
The record of 1916 in respect of epidemic throat illness was unique, inasmuch as the notifications
of diphtheria actually exceeded those of scarlet fever for the whole year, and from September onwards
this excess was marked; the strange comment was, indeed, made in the daily press that the position
was a serious one, inasmuch as diphtheria was actually more widely prevalent in London than scarlet
fever; the real situation being, of course, that the figures for scarlet fever were so exceptionally low
as to render those for diphtheria unsatisfactory by contrast.