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in nutrition are practically all slight cases, whereas formerly a large proportion were
severe. It may help the reader to visualise the improvement which has taken place
in this respect more accurately when it is pointed out that in the winter of 1909-10
the school doctor in a single school in Bethnal Green counted 91 children very seriously
ill-nourished; this number is more than three times as great as those found illnourished
to the same degree in 1934 by all the school doctors in all the schools of
London.
A diagram (fig. 2) on page 26 shows the gradual reduction of the number of
children with discharging ears.
The early reports of the school medical inspectors showed that visual defect was
serious, that its incidence was much heavier upon girls than upon boys and that it
advanced very rapidly in girls during school life. With improvement in school
hygiene, the vision of the children, particularly the girls, has greatly improved and
the girls no longer suffer from worse vision than the boys. The percentage excess of
defective vision in 12 year old girls over 12 year old boys was, in several years, as
follows:—
Percentage excess
of defective vision
Year. in girls.
1913 17.6
1918 11.0
1922 9.3
1927 5.3
1931 2.7
1933 0.0
1934 0.0
His Majesty's reign is distinguished from all those that went before by consideration
for the health of the children. The above figures and facts serve merely to
illustrate the great advance which has already been made.
The school children, many of whom were formerly unhappy, ill-nourished,
defective, unclean and prematurely old, have been replaced by a generation which
approaches more nearly to the ideal of a population healthy, wholesome and full of
the joy of living.
The Shakespearean description is at last out of date : the schoolboy of to-day
no longer whines, nor creeps like snail unwillingly to school.
Staff.
The public health department is organised in three branches, (i) special hospitals
including control of the acute infectious diseases and of the ambulance service;
(ii) general hospitals and district medical work transferred from the late London
poor-law guardians ; and (iii) general public health administration including housing
and the school medical service. A principal medical officer is in charge of each of
the three branches, viz. (i) special hospitals, etc., Dr. J. A. H. Brincker ; (ii) general
hospitals and public assistance medical administration, etc., Dr. W. Brander; and
(iii) general public health administration, Dr. W. A. Daley. With the exception of
the administrative work in connection with infectious disease in schools, which is
directed by Dr. Brincker, assisted by a principal assistant medical officer (Dr. J. G.
Forbes), the work of the school medical service falls entirely in the branch directed
by Dr. Daley and is organised in two main sections.
One of these sections, of which the senior medical officer in charge is Dr. C. J.
Thomas, embraces the medical and dental inspection of school children, the medical
and dental treatment and cleansing of school children, open-air schools and general
school hygiene. For purposes of routine medical inspection, etc., London is divided
into five divisions, north-west (divisional medical officer, Dr. R. H. Simpson); north
(divisional medical officer, Dr. Margaret C. Hogarth) ; north-east (divisional medical
officer, Dr. G. Chaikin); south-east (divisional medical officer, Dr. H. R. Kidner);
south-west (divisional medical officer, Dr. E. J. Boome). The remaining staff in