London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
119
General condition
All these terms are subjective, and it is to be expected that it will be a matter of years before the statistics of assessments on the new scale settle down sufficiently to enable significant conclusions to be drawn from year to year comparisons:
| Excellent | Normal | Sub-normal and bad | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 18.0 | 76.4 | 5.6 | |
| 1947 | 42.0 | 54.3 | 3.7 | |
| 1948 | 40.8 | 56.0 | 3.2 | |
| 1949 | 41.8 | 55.1 | 3.1 | |
| 1950 | 46.3 | 50.9 | 2.8 | |
| 1951 | 47.6 | 49.8 | 2.6 | |
| 1952 | 50.5 | 47.1 | 2.4 |
However, within any one year, comparisons between groups of pupils may be accepted as valid, and the following figures for the different age groups in 1952 are of interest:
| Good | Fair | Poor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery | 54.2 | 43.8 | 2.0 |
| Entrants | 47.6 | 49.4 | 3.0 |
| 7 year old | 46.3 | 50.7 | 3.0 |
| 11 year old | 49.4 | 48.2 | 2.4 |
| Leavers | 59.0 | 39.9 | 1.1 |
The percentages of children referred for treatment or observation on account of nutrition were:
| Referred for | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Observation | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
Although the proportion of 'poor' children appears to have diminished gradually,
no corresponding reduction is found in the percentage of children noted for nutritional
defects.
Pupils receiving school meals, milk, halibut liver oil or cod liver oil and malt on the
recommendation of the doctor, head teacher or care committee are re-inspected by the
doctor each term. During 1952 the total number of 'nutrition re-inspections' carried
out was 57,851. The classification of general condition at these inspections was:
Good Fair Poor
1951 10.5 65.5 24.0
1952 10.7 68.0 21.3
School meals and milk
A return to the Ministry of Education for a typical day in October, 1952, showed that
212,743 children, 55.3 per cent. of the number in attendance, were provided with school
dinners. Of these 18,837 received free dinners. On the same day 340,578 day school
pupils, 88.5 per cent. of the number in attendance, were provided with milk.
Between October, 1951, and October, 1952, the number of centres at which school
children dined rose from 878 to 911; the number of kitchens of all kinds in October, 1952,
producing school meals being 596 (including 563 school and central kitchens). The