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100
Organisation
The school health service is, like most of the personal health services, organised on
a divisional basis (see pages 132-143 for the reports of the divisional medical officers). The
voluntary school care committees continued to be responsible for the follow-up of
pupils found at medical inspections to be in need of treatment, and care committee
representatives were present at over 90 per cent. of the medical inspections.
Medical inspection rooms in schools
The standards under the School Premises Regulations, 1951, do not specify separate
accommodation for medical inspection purposes, merely requiring that suitable
accommodation shall be immediately available at any time during school hours for the
inspection and treatment of pupils by doctors, dentists and nurses. In many of the older
schools medical rooms are not available, and consequently inspections have to be
carried out in halls, classrooms, or other rooms. Matters are being improved by
structural alterations, better washing facilities, lighting and heating.
However, in the plans for the new comprehensive high schools, now under construction,
a well equipped medical suite is being included. This will, in general, contain
a doctor's consultation room, a dental surgery, a nurses' treatment room, waiting
space with changing cubicles, and a 'rest' room. There will be variations on this basic
pattern according to the location of the school, and the availability of school health
service clinics in the near vicinity.
Pupils on school rolls
At the end of 1953 there was a total of 436,921 pupils on the day school roll, 311,637
children of primary and secondary school age were in attendance at County schools
and 103,139 at voluntary or assisted schools; in addition there were 14,113 children
under five years of age in nursery schools and classes or primary schools and 8,032
children in day special schools.
Medical inspection
The School Health Service and Handicapped Regulations, 1953, require that (except
under special arrangements) general medical inspections shall be carried out at least
three times during a child's school life, but it is left to the discretion of the local education
authority to fix the ages at which these, and any other medical inspections which may
be necessary, are carried out. In London the practice for many years has been to carry
out as a routine four general medical inspections at specified ages during school life
and this practice is being continued for the present. Such 'routine' inspections, however,
constitute only a third of the total number of medical inspections each year.
The 're-inspection' of pupils noted for treatment or observation, the 'special' inspection
of pupils specifically referred to the school doctor, and general medical inspections
at ages outside the four 'routine' age groups, constitute the bulk of the medical inspection
work.