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

View report page

London County Council 1934

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

This page requires JavaScript

71
further aid in the form of supervision, guardianship or institutional care under the
Mental Deficiency Acts was necessary:—

Table 43.

Classification.Male.Female.Total.Grand total under headings.
(1) Number of children born in or subsequent to 1916 who have left special schools and who were on the books of the supervision section on 31st December, 1934366221587587
(2) Number who after trial have proved themselves to be incapable by reason of mental or physical defect of undertaking remunerative employment2244
(3) Number employed as under :—
(a) Industrial or manual occupations (i.e., factory work, trade or any part of a trade)233163396
(6) Agricultural or rural occupations
(c) Domestic occupations—
M. F. Total
(1) Receiving remuneration 6 16 22
(2) Required for work at home 1 18 19
73441
(d) Commercial, shop assistant, or selling behind a counter, office boys or girls415
(e) Gone into army, navy or merchant service
(f) Blind alley or other precarious occupations (i.e., vanboys, newsboys, errand boys and girls, selling from a barrow)74175517
(4) Number judged to be employable but out of work2993838
(5) Number whose careers have not been traced:—
(a) Not visited and not seen at bureaux55
(b) Visited but no information obtainable12112328
(6) Cases dealt with in addition to above including those who have since :—
(a) died112
(b) attained the age of 18 years20371274
(c) been dealt with under M.D. Act201737
(d) been lost sight of, or have left London8917330

X.B.—In addition to the 587 after-care cases shown in the above return there were
453 boys and girls between 16 and 18 years of age who had left special schools and were
under statutory supervision on 31st December, 1934. These also were on the books of the
supervision section for placing in employment.
Ponton-road remand home.
The medical supervision of Ponton-road remand home has been carried out
by Dr. C. N. Atlee.
During the year 1934, 2,057 children and young people were admitted to the remand home,
of whom 1,801 were boys, and 256 were girls. Amongst this number, out-county cases totalled
636. The number sent to hospital was 85, and 609 were found to be verminous and were cleansed.
Special psychological and medical reports were called for in 269 instances by the magistrates
and duly complied with ; 82 children were persistent bedwetters. The number admitted and
dealt with, shows an increase over last year of 729, of whom 145 were out-county. The reasons
for admission are tabulated and have been abbreviated, stealing and allied offences accounting
for the majority, as usual. There is an increase in the number noted under "needing care and
protection," this being a useful measure for removing children from conditions likely to bring
them into trouble and securing for them some means of supervision.
"Suspected persons," and "breaking and entering with intent," appear to be common
charges.
The remainder do not seem to call for any special comment. Taken as a whole, the young
people and children admitted, with a few exceptions, were representative of the usual type of
normal elementary school child, such as one finds in the course of routine school work, with