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 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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the following table, and may be attributed to improved social standards, greater concern on the part of parents, and the effectiveness of the cleansing scheme.
| Year | No. of pupils on school rolls | No. of nurses' hygiene inspections | No. of occasions on which pupils were found to be 'verminous' | Column (4) as a percentage of column (3) | No. of individual children comprising column (4) | Percentage of the school population of the individual children in col. (6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) |
| 1938 | 457,253 | 1,463,634 | 106,299 | 7.3 | 65,292 | 14.3 |
| 1946 | 334,784 | 1,532,848 | 87,668 | 5.7 | 40,960 | 12.2 |
| 1948 | 373,090 | 1,538,187 | 64,620 | 4.2 | 29,970 | 8.0 |
| 1950 | 380,885 | 1,428,783 | 46,012 | 3.2 | 22,159 | 5.8 |
| 1952 | 425,362 | 1,439,384 | 31,905 | 2.2 | 17,051 | 4.0 |
| 1954 | 442,129 | 1,299,358 | 21,872 | 1.7 | 11,801 | 2.7 |
| 1955 | 442,917 | 1,252,375 | 16,965 | 1.4 | 9,613 | 2.2 |
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.
During the year, 169,329 medical re-inspections were carried out, 68,051 in respect
of pupils noted as 'nutrition' cases (see page 104) and 101,278 in respect of other defects.
Choice of employment
At the general medical inspections of pupils about to leave school, note is made by the
school doctors of any physical condition in the pupil which would indicate against a
particular type of employment, and this information is passed on to the Youth Employment
Service.
Pupils advised against particular forms of employment formed 15.4 per cent. of
both sexes examined. Work requiring normal vision and that involving eye strain
again headed the list of contra-indications for both sexes. Next came heavy manual
work, normal colour vision (for boys only), exposure to bad weather, and prolonged
standing or quick movement.
The following table gives the main contra-indications disclosed at the medical inspections of the 21,722 school leavers during 1955:
| Contra-indications | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| Occupations involving: | ||
| Heavy manual work | 293 | 212 |
| Sedentary work | 17 | 37 |
| Indoor work | 4 | 2 |
| Exposure to bad weather | 109 | 180 |
| Wide changes of temperature | 56 | 52 |
| Work in damp atmosphere | 95 | 104 |
| Work in dusty atmosphere | 113 | 79 |
| Much stooping | 24 | 30 |
| Climbing | 65 | 49 |
| Work near moving machinery or moving vehicles | 69 | 34 |
| Prolonged standing, much walking or quick movement from place to place | 107 | 149 |
| Eye strain | 512 | 558 |
| Normal vision | 730 | 540 |
| Normal colour vision | 288 | 2 |
| Normal use of hands | 13 | 5 |
| Exposure of hands to moisture, chemicals, etc. | 24 | 29 |
| Handling or preparationof food | 69 | 77 |
| Normal hearing | 70 | 44 |