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 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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93
Eye strain and defective vision, followed by heavy manual work, again headed
the list of contra-indications for both sexes. Next came exposure to bad weather
and prolonged standing or quick movement for boys, while for girls this order was
reversed. Details are given in Table 15 (page 150).
Following-up
and
re-inspection
The following-up of children referred by the school doctors for observation or
treatment, which is an essential part of the school health service, 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 medical inspection, to allow time for treatment
to be carried out, and further re-inspections are made, if necessary, to ensure that as
far as possible every child gets adequate treatment.
During the year, 112,667 re-inspections were made. The number of defects for
which children were re-insnected were:—
No. of
medical
defects
No. of
dental
defects
Total
defects
First re-inspections 23,602 23,996 47,598
Second and subsequent re-inspections
30,339 18,796 49,135
53,941 42,792 96,733
At the time of re-inspection, treatment had either already been obtained, or had been started, in the following percentages of cases:—
| 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excluding dental defects | 89.4 | 90.2 | 90.3 | 92.1 |
| Including dental defects | 87.0 | 87.3 | 87.5 | 88.7 |
Treatment
centres
Medical treatment
The defects treated and the number of clinics available for the treatment of each defect are shown in the following table:—
| Defect | L.C.C. | No. of Clinics Voluntary | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor ailments | 53 | 26 | 79 |
| Dental | 30 | 16 | 46 |
| Vision | 23 | 16 | 39 |
| Orthoptic | 8 | — | 8 |
| Ear, nose and throat | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Audiology | 9 | — | 9 |
| Speech therapy | 20 | 3 | 23 |
| Consultative | 8 | — | 8 |
| Nutrition | 21 | 8 | 29 |
| Rheumatism (supervisory) | 11 | 5 | 16 |
Special
sessions at
hospitals
In addition, 27 hospitals continued to provide special sessions for the medical
and dental treatment of school children. (See page 98 concerning hospital authorities
and specialist services.) At these hospitals, treatment organisers attended at the
following special sessions to which children were referred by the school health service
and were greatly helped in their work by the co-operation of the almoner's department
and nursing and administrative staff.
Belgrave Hospital for Children Aural
Bermondsey Medical Mission Minor ailment*
Children's Hospital, Sydenham Eyes, aural and nutrition
Eastern Hospital Aural
Evelina Hospital Eyes
Guy's Hospital Eyes, aural, skin and orthopaedic
Hampstead General Hospital Rheumatism
King's College Hospital Eyes and rheumatism
London Hospital Eyes
Moorfields, Westminster and Central Eye
Hospital
(1) City Road—Eyes and orthoptic
(2) High Holborn—Eyes and orthoptic
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