London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

London County Council 1931

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

This page requires JavaScript

Defective children.Admission Examinations with a view to the admission of children to special schools were examination made5,684 cases, a decrease of 331 from the number examined in the previous year, and 19,293 others were re-examined during the year either at school or at County Hall. The following table shows the number of children nominated for examination and the recommendations made:—

Defect.Number nominated.Suitable for admission toReturned to elementary school.Invalided as for the time unfit for any school.Notified under M.D. Acts.
Boys-Girls.Blind school.Myope class.Swanley.Boys-Girls.Boys.Girls.Boys.Girls.
Boys.Girls.BoysGirls.Boys.Girls.
Ocular6687571098814197864514852236
Deaf school.Hard of hearing class.
Boys.Girls.Boys.Girls.
Aural15616742343549768232
P.D. school.Open-air school.
PhysicallydefectiveBoys.Girls.Boys.Girls.
85981764462225151361385442
M.D. school.
Boys.Girls.
Mentally defective1,1678814963975513855750 *63*49
Epileptic colony.
Boys.Girls
Epileptic104108282341523533
Total cases2,9542,7301,4651,3761,2551,1421711636349
5,6842,8412,397334112

*Of these 52 boys and 44 girls were imbeciles; 3 boys were idiots; and 8 boys and 5 girls were feeble-minded.

Children The following statement shows the nature of the conditions found among the admitted to children certified as suitable for admission to schools for the physically defective at P.D. schools, the admission examinations during the year:—

Morbid conditionsBoys.Girls.Total.
Infantile paralysis462975
Cerebral paralysis131427
Various paralyses34842
Tuberculosis of bones and joints12293215
Osteomyelitis161228
Rickets and resulting deformities7815
Congenital deformities212748
Traumata and amputations20727
Non-tuberculous arthritis131023
Rheumatism, chorea, etc296392
Heart disease—
Congenital232245
Acquired valvular170230400
Non-valvular5267119*
Various chest conditions531770
Other diseases, chiefly medical251540
Totals6446221,266

* In some of these cases evidence of valvular disease was somewhat uncertain but there has been
transient evidence of valvular incompetence.