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London County Council
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL MEDICAL OFFICER FOR THE YEAR 1938.
By Sir Frederick Menzies, K.B.E., M.D., LL.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.E., K.H.P.,
County Medical Officer of Health and School Medical Officer.
Introduction
In the preamble to the report for 1937, attention was drawn to the strides made
in improving the health and physical condition of the children. The origin of the
school medical service can be traced largely to the amount of preventable physical
defect revealed by the recruiting statistics at the time of the South African War.
It took some time for the necessary legislation to be carried through, and, at the
outbreak of the Great War in 1914, sufficient time had not elapsed to show results,
and the country was again alarmed when the recruiting statistics showed the presence
of a large proportion of C3 individuals. It is satisfactory to have been able to indicate
in the annual reports of the last decade, how each year the physical condition of the
children had improved ; and, now that critical times have again come, confirmation
of this is forthcoming in preliminary reports on the examination of militiamen, which
show that the standard of fitness is high. In the present report, the condition of the
children in the schools during 1938 is set out, and references are made to advances in
all branches of the service. Especial attention may, however, be drawn to the new
arrangements for linking up the school medical service with the National Health
Insurance service (p. 14), and the interesting advances in the study of nutritional
conditions (p. 16).
Pre-occupation of the senior staff with matters relating to civil defence has made it
necessary to curtail the size of this report compared with previous years.
Staff
The administrative work of the public health department in connection with
the school medical service falls mainly within the general public health division,
which is directed by the deputy medical officer of health and deputy school medical
officer (Dr. W. A. Daley), who is assisted by a principal clerk, responsible for the
work of the lay administrative and clerical staff. Matters in regard to infectious disease
in school are dealt with by the principal medical officer of the special hospitals division
(Dr. J. A. H. Brincker), who has the assistance of a principal assistant medical officer
for these duties.
The school medical work undertaken in the general public health division is
organised in two main sections.
One of these, 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, each under a divisional medical officer, viz.: north-west, north,
north-east, south-east and south-west. The remaining staff in this branch of the
school medical work includes one principal assistant medical officer for aural work ;
10 part-time assistant aurists ; one part-time principal assistant medical officer; one
divisional medical officer for ophthalmic work, nursery schools, etc.; *21 whole-time
assistant medical officers ; 3 assistant medical officers giving six sessions a week ; 58
assistant medical officers giving three sessions a week ; additional temporary medical
assistance for 120 sessions a week and 9 medical officers (part-time) at open-air schools.
There are 271 part-time doctors, surgeons and anaesthetists engaged at the hospitals
and school treatment centres under the Council's scheme. These last appointments
are made by the authorities of the hospitals and treatment centres, each individual
appointment being subject to the approval of the Council, with the exception that
* Not including two officers temporarily seconded for work under the Housing Acts (equivalent
substitutes authorised).
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