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 1964
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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On the selected day 303,527 children in Council-maintained schools took milk compared with 300,383 in September, 1963. Of 28,974 children present in independent schools, 21,278 had milk under the scheme. The percentages for the several types of school for the corresponding days were:
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary | 66.05 | 63.12 | 61.08 | 59.64 | 61.72 |
| Primary | 96.32 | 96.51 | 96.01 | 95.42 | 96.05 |
| Day special | 98.47 | 99.18 | 97.32 | 97.26 | 97.59 |
| Nursery | 98.51 | 98.67 | 97.86 | 96.84 | 9704 |
| Boarding | 98.51 | 97.52 | 98.41 | 97.42 | 98.64 |
| Independent | 74.60 | 77.66 | 74.62 | 71.90 | 73.44 |
Vision
Visual acuity standards expressed as percentages of the numbers of children whose eyes
were tested are set out in the following table.
The proportion of children not already wearing spectacles who are referred for treatment
does not vary much from one age group to another, i.e., development of defective vision
is progressive with age, since those found to have defective vision at earlier examination
and provided with spectacles will be excluded from this side of the table at subsequent
examinations. For children already wearing spectacles the proportions referred for treatment
increase with age, doubtless for correction of refraction.
Of the children medically inspected, 0.7 per cent, were noted for treatment of squint, compared with 0.6 per cent, in 1961, 1962 and 1963. The percentage ranged from 1.4 in the entrant group to 0.1 in the leaver group.
| Age group | Boys | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not wearing spectacles | Wearing spectacles | |||||||
| 6/6 | 6/9 | 6112 or worse | Referred for treatment | 6/6 | 6/9 | 6/12 or worse | Referred for treatment | |
| Under 7 | 87.5 | 6.6 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| 7 | 80.1 | 9.7 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1.3 | 10 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| 8 | 81.4 | 8.6 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| 9 | 80.0 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
| 10 | 82.5 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.2 |
| 11 | 79.3 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 3.8 |
| 12 | 79.7 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 4.1 |
| 13 | 80.3 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 4.6 |
| 14 | 78.5 | 4.6 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 5.3 |
| 15 and over | 76.7 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 5.9 |
| Total | 80.0 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 |