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
Barking 1934
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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The fact that amongst "Leavers" (the Third Age Group) 12.6 per cent. were
found to require treatment is an expression of the inevitable fact that we are
human and that we are prone to develop defects, and is not proof whatsoever that
you have not spent any money on these children or that the money you have spent
has been wasted. The same may be said of the Second Age Group. Equally well
the fact that 16.9 per cent. of the "Entrants" do require treatment is not proof
of inadequate or inefficient care and attention given to these children up to five
years of age. There must of necessity, so long as we are human, be people who need
treatment.
(a) Malnutrition.—In estimating to what extent there is malnutrition among
school children, the most reliable figures that I know are those relating to cases of
malnutrition found during the course of routine and special inspections. Routine
inspections are carried out solely by reason of the age of the children and have
nothing to do with whether or not we know there is anything wrong with the
children. During the last year in Barking there were 4,117 children so examined
and amongst these it was found that 10 were suffering from malnutrition to such
an extent as to require treatment. Amongst these children examined solely by
the reason of their age group there were also found 64 cases of malnutrition who
were kept under observation and who were not at the time of the examination
requiring treatment. This makes a total of 74 or approximately 1.8 per cent. of
the children examined.
(b)
| 1933 | 1934 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of examinations of children in the schools by School Nurses | 37,762 | 41,499 |
| Number of individual children found unclean | 1,571 | 1,583 |
| Number of uncleanliness findings | 2,184 | 2,553 |
During the year, five children were cleansed by the Local Authority, and in
seven cases legal proceedings were taken under Section 43 of the Education Act,
1921.
(c) Minor Ailments and Diseases of the Skin.—With over thirty thousand
attendances at the Minor Ailments Clinics you have established there should not
be a large number of minor ailments discovered among the children who are
examined at routine medical inspections, who, as I have said above, are examined
in age groups, whether their health is good or bad, and I am happy to say this is so.
The Minor Ailments Clinics also deal effectively with cases of minor diseases
of the skin such as impetigo, ringworm of the body, scabies, and any other skin
disease which presents itself.