View report page

In attempting to assess the merits of these inspections by nursing sisters it must be
remembered that there is strictly no yardstick of comparability although, in the above
table, numbers of defects found by doctors at routine medical inspections are also
shown. The routine medical inspections are carried out by age groups (on entry, at
age 7, at age 11, and just before leaving school) whereas the nursing sisters' hygiene
inspections were of children of all ages three times a year. It might have been expected
that the nursing sisters' inspections would disclose the existence of undetected defects
among children of ages in the gaps between routine medical inspections, but examination
of the figures relating to separate age groups does not support that idea.
There can be no doubt that the sooner defects needing treatment can be discovered
and the children referred for treatment the better ; and although inspection three times
a year by nursing sisters at the rate of less than three minutes a child must be much
more of a cursory nature than full routine medical examinations by a doctor four times
in school life, the chance of defects coming to light earlier is presumably improved.
Nevertheless, hygiene inspections by nursing sisters, however thorough or frequent,
cannot satisfactorily replace the routine age group medical examinations.
The nursing sisters have appreciated being given sufficient time to make a more
thorough inspection, and health education for the children must be relatively more
beneficial. Nevertheless, the greater number of school nursing sisters who would have
to be allocated to hygiene examinations on the basis of 20 children an hour would
not be justified by the results of the experiment. Accordingly it has been decided that,
for the whole of the county, the more comprehensive hygiene inspections by the school
nurse should be carried out in one only of the three school terms. During the two other
terms the normal personal hygiene inspection is carried out. The whole question will
be reviewed again after a further period of a year.
Re-inspection and 'follow-up'
The 'follow-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 the children's
care organisation. Each child referred 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.