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 1946
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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It will be seen that the nursery children compare favourably with the entrants. The following table gives an analysis of the defects found in the examination of 73,632 boys and 70,868 girls of all ages in 1946:—
| Defect | Boys | Girls | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Percentage | No. | Percentage | ||
| Skin diseases | (a) | 1,058 | 1.4 | 1,017 | 1.4 |
| (b) | 879 | 1.2 | 864 | 1.2 | |
| Tonsils | (a) | 3,420 | 4.6 | 3,376 | 4.8 |
| (b) | 1,458 | 2.0 | 1,466 | 2.1 | |
| Adenoids | (a) | 534 | 0.7 | 402 | 0.6 |
| (b) | 335 | 0.5 | 250 | 0.4 | |
| Tonsils and adenoids | (a) | 2,279 | 3.1 | 2,090 | 2.9 |
| (b) | 1,638 | 2.2 | 1,506 | 2.1 | |
| Other nose, throat | (a) | 459 | 0.6 | 391 | 0.6 |
| (b) | 343 | 0.5 | 307 | 0.4 | |
| Cervical glands | (a) | 1,069 | 1.5 | 740 | 1.0 |
| (b) | 240 | 0.3 | 183 | 0.3 | |
| Eye disease | (a) | 1,501 | 2.0 | 1,459 | 2.1 |
| (b) | 1,115 | 1.5 | 1,057 | 1.5 | |
| Otorrhœa, otitis media | (a) | 399 | 0.5 | 384 | 0.5 |
| (b) | 276 | 0.4 | 260 | 0.4 | |
| Other ear | (a) | 281 | 0.4 | 301 | 0.4 |
| (b) | 221 | 0.3 | 245 | 0.3 | |
| Hearing | (a) | 253 | 0.3 | 195 | 0.3 |
| (b) | 149 | 0.2 | 128 | 0.2 | |
| Speech | (a) | 285 | 0.4 | 146 | 0.2 |
| (b) | 131 | 0.2 | 73 | 0.1 | |
| Heart | (a) | 495 | 0.7 | 481 | 0.7 |
| (b) | 95 | 0.1 | 115 | 0.2 | |
| Anaemia | (a) | 282 | 0.4 | 268 | 0.4 |
| (b) | 190 | 0.3 | 203 | 0.3 | |
| Lungs (not T.B.) | (a) | 1,273 | 1.7 | 976 | 1.4 |
| (b) | 564 | 0.8 | 374 | 0.5 | |
| Epilepsy | (a) | 59 | 0.1 | 40 | 0.1 |
| (b) | 25 | 0.0 | 16 | 0.0 | |
| Chorea | (a) | 33 | 0.0 | 39 | 0.1 |
| (b) | 21 | 0.0 | 22 | 0.0 | |
| Paralysis | (a) | 19 | 0.0 | 12 | 0.0 |
| (b) | 6 | 0.0 | 4 | 0.0 | |
| Other nervous | (a) | 707 | 1.0 | 568 | 0.8 |
| (b) | 425 | 0.6 | 317 | 0.4 | |
| Spinal deformity | (a) | 203 | 0.3 | 262 | 0.4 |
| (b) | 132 | 0.2 | 188 | 0.3 | |
| Other deformities | (a) | 2,252 | 3.1 | 2,270 | 3.2 |
| (b) | 1,404 | 1.9 | 1,330 | 1.9 | |
| Rheumatism | (a) | 308 | 0.4 | 525 | 0.7 |
| (b) | 202 | 0.3 | 346 | 0.5 | |
| Other defects(excluding malnutrition, teeth or cleanliness) | (a) | 836 | 1.1 | 710 | 1.0 |
| (b) | 599 | 0.8 | 494 | 0.7 | |
(a) Total number found. (b) Number included in (a) requiring treatment.
Parents'
attendance
Parents' interest in their children and the value they place on school medical
inspection is evidenced by the fact that they were present at 72.9 per cent. of all age
group inspections.
Care
Committee
attendance
clothing and
footgear
A care committee representative was present at 89.6 per cent. of all routine
medical inspections.
The nurses note the condition of the children's clothing and footgear when they
are undressing them, and there was a smaller percentage of clothing and footgear
marked ' bad ' by the school nurses in 1946 (0.2) than in 1938 (0.4).
Vaccination
Of the children in the four age groups, 46.74 per cent. were found by the school
doctors to have been vaccinated. The corresponding percentage for 1938 was 46.5.
These figures are much lower than is desirable.