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

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London County Council 1931

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

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45
75 boys and 62 girls, being examined. Their ages ranged from 6 to 17, all but 6 being
between 8 and 16. In the condition of their clothing, cleanliness, nutrition and
teeth they compared favourably with children in the elementary schools, with the
exception of four girls found with dirty heads. It was noted that 61 children were
in need of medical or dental treatment, five having two ailments needing attention.
These included 39 dental defects, 11 defects of vision or eye disease, three cases of
discharging ears, three nose and throat defects, two cases of enuresis, and eight
other defects. The attention of the parents was drawn to these defects, and, in
cases where they were unable to make arrangements for treatment, they were offered
facilities under the Council's scheme for the treatment of school children. At
subsequent re-inspections 28 cases were found to have been treated and were discharged,
three were still under treatment, and one had so improved that treatment was no
longer necessary, while twenty (16 dental cases) were still in need of treatment.
Reports from the treatment centres show that in addition seven children were
treated for minor ailments under the scheme, and two children were cleansed at the
cleansing stations.
At over 90 per cent. of the routine examinations a parent was present. There
is evidence from this and from the condition of the children that they are well cared
for at home, and for the most part sent to the occupation centres well fed and in a
clean and tidy condition. When necessary the employment of guides has been
sanctioned to convey the children between their homes and the centres.
Blind Persons Act, 1920.
Blind
training, etc.
In accordance with suggestions made by the Ministry of Health, the Council, in
July, 1931, revised its scheme for the welfare of blind persons in the county of
London. One of the provisions of the revised scheme was that no person's name
should be finally entered on the register until he had been examined and certified
to be blind within the meaning of the Blind Persons Act, 1920, by a medical practitioner
with special experience in ophthalmology. This entailed the overhaul of the
whole register of blind persons, numbering about 6,700. During the year 1931 it
was only possible to deal with persons in receipt of domiciliary assistance, but the
work is being continued. In addition the certification of workshop employees has
been carried out as in previous years.
In all 2,223 persons (909 males, 1,314 females) were examined, and certificates
were granted in 2,044 cases (834 males and 1,210 females). In addition, certificates
issued by hospital or private doctors were accepted in 547 cases (222 males and 325
females).

The applicants who satisfied the conditions as to blindness were divided into the following categories (the figures for 1930 being given in brackets):—

Males.Females.
For registration1,005(117)1,503(135)
For training45(56)26(25)
For homes for the blind5(1)6(2)
For homeworkers1(2)(4)
Totals1,056(176)1,535(166)

Of the 2,223 persons examined, 179 (75 males, 104 females) did not come within
the definition of blindness laid down by the Ministry of Health and were not certified
as blind.
As regards the 71 applications for training, 5 (4 males and 1 female), while found
to be blind, were unfit for training, and 17 persons (12 male, 5 female) who had
previously been certified as blind were examined as to physical fitness and found to
be unsuitable for training.
In four cases applications for examination were withdrawn.