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Medical inspection
Details of medical inspections during 1964 are summarised and compared with those
for earlier years in the tables below. Since 1958 periodic general medical inspections have
been analysed by year of birth to conform with Ministry requirements, but to facilitate
annual comparisons the year of birth has been turned into 'age' (by subtracting year of
birth from year of inspection) in the tables throughout this section of the report.
It will be seen from the following table that intermediate inspections now are each
spread over two age groups because the school year begins in September. The number of
children seen at periodic general medical inspections in 1964 was 37.3 per cent of the school
roll, compared with 37.0 per cent. in 1963 and 39-3 per cent. in 1962. It is of interest that
of the 11,285 special inspections, over half were requested by head teachers, a quarter by
school health visitors and one-tenth by parents.
In an experiment started during 1962, the routine examination of the seven to eight years
age group was suspended in selected schools to allow more time for the examination of
children considered to be in need of particular attention. This experiment has been extended
to further schools throughout the county but the number of inspections is not yet sufficient
to allow a full assessment of its value. Preliminary findings indicate a much greater yield
of defects noted, proportionally about a third more eye defects, twice as many defects for
tonsils and adenoids, speech, lungs, nervous, psychological, rheumatism and enuresis and
about three times as many cervical gland defects.
During the year 3,791 pupils were interviewed or discussed at case conferences and
found not to warrant a medical examination.
The total number of medical inspections (periodic and other) carried out in 1964 was
277,464.