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The following table shows the percentage of children of all ages noted for treatment or
observation of the defects listed for the years 1955 to 1959. These percentages remain
fairly stable over the period except for defects of hearing and speech, which show a slight
but steady yearly increase, and enlarged cervical glands which show a slight but steady
yearly decrease. The increases may be due to improved case finding but in the case of
cervical glands the trend was observed in the preceding four years (1951-1954).
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Numbers examined 176,637 163,489 170,604 172,271 136,263
Percentages
Skin diseases 1.35 1.10 1.16 1.19 1.22
External eye diseases 0.58 0.57 0.55 0.48 0.55
Defective hearing 0.9 0.60 0.64 0.77 0.91
Otitis media 0.66 0.66 0.60 0.57 0.67
Enlarged tonsils and adenoids 5.97 5.88 4.84 4.91 5.11
Defective speech 0.75 0.77 0.80 0.81 0.93
Enlarged cervical glands 1.30 1.22 0.97 0.95 0.89
Heart and circulation 0.79 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.88
Lung disease (not T.B.) 1.41 1.35 1.32 1.25 1.49
Orthopaedic defects 4.82 4.41 4.06 4.12 4.16
Defects of nervous system 0.39 0.34 0.41 0.40 0.39
Psychological defects 0.97 0.94 0.86 0.93 0.93
Anaemia 0.14 0.13 0.11 0.10 0.17
Enuresis 1.57 1.62 1.54 1.59 1.75
Physical condition of pupils
In accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Education, school medical officers,
at periodic medical inspections, are asked to classify the ' physical condition ' of pupils
according to a two-point scale, ' satisfactory' or ' unsatisfactory' Such assessments are,
of course, purely subjective, and no criteria or definitions can be laid down. Nevertheless it
may be accepted that the experienced school physician can, and does, classify on a
meaningful basis, so that valid year by year comparisons can be made. In 1959 the physical
condition of pupils inspected at periodic general medical inspections was recorded as
satisfactory for over 98 per cent, of the children. The percentages recorded as unsatisfactory
in each age group were as follows:
Age Physical condition
(year of examination unsatisfactory
less year of birth) %
4 and less 1.4
5 1.4
6 2.4
7 1.4
8 1.2
9 2.0
10 2.9
11 1.2
12 1.3
13 1.3
14 0.9
15 and over 0.6
The percentage of pupils whose condition was classified as satisfactory and unsatisfactory,
and the percentage who were noted as requiring treatment or observation on
account of poor nutrition, are set out below. This table indicates a continuous improvement
over the four years.
Physical Condition Nutrition defect noted for
Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Treatment Observation
% % % %
1956 95.0 5.0 0.9 0.9
1957 97.3 2.7 0.6 0.6
1958 98.1 1.9 0.5 0.6
1959 98.8 1.2 0.2 0.5
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