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 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The following table shows the results of the operation of this 'cleansing scheme' during 1956 :
| 1. | Number of occasions on which pupils were found to be ' verminous ' (as defined) | 15,165 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | Number of individual pupils comprising item 1 | 8,238 |
| 3. | Number of advice cards issued | 9,614 |
| 4. | Number of families involved in item 3 | 3,836 |
| 5. | Number of pupils found to be clean after issue of advice card | 1,690 |
| 6. | Number of pupils voluntarily attending bathing centre after advice card | 6,452 |
| 7. | Number of statutory notices issued | 1,223 |
| 8. | Number cleansed voluntarily after statutory notice | 325 |
| 9. | Number compulsorily cleansed after statutory notice | 853 |
The total number of individual verminous pupils treated at bathing centres fell by
198 to 9,669, while treatments needed decreased bv 986 to 14,770.
The steady decline in the numbers of verminous pupils in recent years is shown in 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 |
| 1956 | 445,870 | 1,199,100 | 15,165 | 1.3 | 8,238 | 1.8 |
Scabies, impetigo and ringworm
Individuals treated for scabies totalled 762 compared with 961 in 1955.
Cases of impetigo treated at minor ailment and bathing centres numbered 2,766
compared with 3,749 in 1955.
For the first time on record, no cases of scalp ringworm were found in the County
during the 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.
During the year, 160,751 medical re-inspections were carried out, 64,565 in respect
of pupils noted as ' nutrition ' cases (see page 102) and 96,186 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.
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