London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1944
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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only 2,575 were supplied by independent canteens, the remaining 83,945 being supplied
by the Londoners' Meals and Rest Centre Services.
The percentage of the number of children in attendance who had school meals
and milk was :—
Meals
Milk
Elementary 33.63 72.59
Secondary 65.27 61.96
The milk figures for elementary schools, which are as at 8th June, showed an
unexpected fall as compared with those for February, 1944 (meals 33.62; milk
75.89).
Similar figures for a typical day in October, 1944, were:—
| Type of school | No. in attendance on selected day | Number who had meals | Number who had milk | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Dinner | Tea | 1/3pint | 2/3 pint | Total | ||
| Elementary | 128,755 | — 54 | 2,177 34,010 | — 2,123 | 433 24,457 | 4,190 62,085 | 4,623 86,542 |
| Secondary | 54 | 36,187 | 2,123 | 24,890 | 66,275 | 91,165 | |
| 15,897 | 10,039 | — | 8,351 | 1,460 | 9,811 | ||
| Junior technical schools | 3,406 | — | 2,011 | — | 1,690 | 217 | 1 ;907 |
| Total | — | 54 | 48,237 | 2,123 | 34,931 | 67,952 | 102,883 |
In addition, 1,519 children attending day special schools had dinner, making
a total of 49,756 pupils having school dinner on the selected day.
The percentages of the number of children having milk and meals to the total
number of children in attendance were as follows, the comparable figures in June,
1944, being given in brackets :—
Meals
Milk
Elementary 28.10 (33. 63) 70.80 (72.59)
Secondary 68.81 (65.27) 61.71 (61.96)
It will be seen from the figures that in the elementary schools there was a slight
fall in the percentage of children having milk, and a more pronounced fall in the
percentage of children taking their mid-day meal at school. In the interval between
the selected dates (8th June and 12th October) the numbers fell even lower. The
October figures represent the recovery which had been achieved by the middle of
that month. Since then the process of recovery continued, and on 24th November
the percentage of children in elementary schools taking the mid-day meal had risen
to 31.5.
Infectious diseases in schools
As in previous war-time years, the figures available on the incidence of infectious
diseases are vitiated by reason of the movements of the school population, but the
usual control arrangements were made.
The co-operation with the Metropolitan Borough Councils in the arrangements
for carrying out in schools and centres immunisation against diphtheria, was continued.
In nineteen boroughs, the Council's school medical staff carried out the immunisation
while in nine boroughs this work was done in the schools by the medical staff of the
Borough Councils. In 1944 the number of children who received the full course
from the Council's medical staff was 4,065, bringing up to 65,199 the total of children
immunised in schools by the school medical staff since the issue in November, 1940,
of a circular on this subject from the Ministry of Health and the Board of Education.
A survey by the school nurses showed that in July, 1944, about 68 per cent, of
the children on the rolls of the elementary schools had been immunised.
Immunisation
against diphtheria