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 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Enlarged tonsils and adenoids, orthopaedic defects and external eye diseases all show a continued decline. Defective hearing and enuresis have increased over the last year.
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers examined | 150,790 | 163,598 | 164,056 |
| Skin diseases | 1.22 | 1.19 | 1.14 |
| External eye diseases | 0.56 | 0.54 | 0.48 |
| Defective hearing | 0.85 | 0.90 | 0.99 |
| Otitis media | 0.56 | 0.51 | 0.49 |
| Enlarged tonsils and adenoids | 4.28 | 3.95 | 3.72 |
| Defective speech | 0.88 | 0.87 | 0.89 |
| Enlarged cervical glands | 0.68 | 0.63 | 0.66 |
| Heart and circulation | 0.83 | 0.87 | 0.86 |
| Lung disease (not T.B.) | 1.38 | 1.21 | 1.25 |
| Orthopaedic defects | 3.93 | 3.52 | 3.31 |
| Defects of nervous system | 0.43 | 0.43 | 0.43 |
| Psychological defects | 1.02 | 1.08 | 1.06 |
| Anaemia | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.11 |
| Enuresis | 1.80 | 1.77 | 1.96 |
The following table shows the sources of referral for special medical inspections and
the value of such referrals judged from the number of defects found.
| Head teacher | School health visitor | Referred by: Divisional officer (Education) | Care committee | Parent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of pupils seen | 6,068 | 2,895 | 716 | 485 | 1,175 |
| Number of defects found | 2,740 | 1,611 | 141 | 170 | 611 |
| Number of defects per 1,000 pupils: Skin diseases | 28 | 54 | 4 | 2 | 17 |
| Defective vision | 108 | 556 | 18 | 52 | 67 |
| External eye diseases | 22 | 39 | 1 | 6 | 20 |
| E.N.T. conditions | 80 | 115 | 29 | 33 | 100 |
| Orthopaedic defects | 37 | 58 | 14 | 12 | 39 |
| Defects of nervous system | 37 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 14 |
| Psychological defects | 338 | 30 | 25 | 49 | 66 |
| Enuresis | 26 | 42 | 4 | 33 | 46 |
| Speech defects | 59 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 22 |
| Nutritional defects | 17 | 34 | 1 | 35 | 17 |
| All other defects | 139 | 177 | 89 | 109 | 111 |
Attendance of parents and care committee representatives at periodic inspections—As in
previous years, the percentage of medical inspections at which a parent is present decreases
as children get older. The overall percentage was 49.2, slightly higher than in 1961 when it
was 48.6 per cent.
Care committee representatives attended 86.3 per cent. of all periodic general inspections.
In the infant and junior school age groups the figure was over 90 per cent. but only about
80 per cent. in the secondary school age groups. This was due, no doubt, to the fact that
care committees do not function in all secondary schools.
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