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89
defect in the last three years should be expected, though not necessarily an increase
of one per cent., as children may be referred for more than one defect. In fact, it
was found that compared with 1946 there was an actual decrease of 0.1 per cent.
in 1947 in the overall figure, an increase of 0.5 per cent. in 1948, and an increase of
0.1 per cent. in 1949. None of these small changes can be regarded as of any
moment.
Choice of
employment
Comparison of 1949 with 1948 in numbers advised against particular forms of
employment shows a reduction in the overall figure for both sexes together from
17.0 to 15.8 per cent. The order of ranking of the contra-indications places
defective vision at the head of the list for both boys and girls, followed by heavy
manual work for both sexes and exposure to bad weather for girls. The details
are shown in Table 20, p. 133.
Following
up and
re-inspection
The following-up of children referred by the school doctors for observation or
treatment is an essential part of the School Health Service and is carried out by
members of the Children's Care organisation. Each referred child is re-inspected by
the school doctor a few months after the medical inspection to allow time for
treatment to be carried out. If necessary, further re-inspections are made to ensure
as far as possible that every child gets adequate treatment. The follow-up results
calculated from the doctors' inspection findings are the criterion of the effectiveness
of the treatment services. During the year, 87,915 re-inspections were made of
children so referred. The number of defects on account of which children were
were referred for re-inspection were:—
No. of
medical
defects
No. of
dental
defects
Total
defects
First re-inspections 26,302 22,752 49,054
Second ana subsequent
re-inspections
18,938 12,096 31,034
45,240 34,848 80,088

The post-war figures are consistently higher than those of 1938.
Medical Treatment
This was the first full year in which every child was entitled to free general
practitioner services. The new hospital authorities allowed special arrangements
for school children's clinics to continue. The greatest change compared with the
former regime, was in the ophthalmic service and it now takes many months for a
pair of spectacles to be obtained.
Payment of the cost of emergency dental treatment by private practitioners
(for the relief of pain) during evenings, weekends and at other times when clinics
were not open, was authorised.
Payment was made of travelling expenses for pupils from Council schools and
their parents or escorts, to clinics more than two miles from the home of a senior
pupil, or one and a half miles in the case of a junior pupil, or for any shorter
distance when the school medical officer considered this necessary, e.g. in the case
of certain handicapped pupils.
Treatment
Centres
At the end of 1949 there were 84 school treatment centres, and in addition 24
hospitals continued to provide special sessions for the medical and dental treatment
of school children.