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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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The following tabic shows the results of cleanliness inspections for the past two years:—
| 1936 | 1937 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of examinations of children in the schools by School Nurses | 39,645 | 39,978 |
| Number of individual children found unclean | 1,174 | 1,327 |
| Number of uncleanliness findings | 2,173 | 2,289 |
During the year, 10 children were cleansed by the Local Authority, and in
eight cases legal proceedings were taken under the Education Act, 1921.
(c) Minor Ailments and Diseases of the Skin.—Children suffering from minor
ailments are referred by school medical officers, school nurses, teachers and in some
cases by private medical practitioners to the minor ailments clinics.
The following is the number of cases of skin diseases referred for treatment during the year:—
| Ringworm (Scalp) | 21 |
| Ringworm (Body) | 26 |
| Scabies | 126 |
| Impetigo | 309 |
| Other Skin Diseases: | |
| Non-tuberculous | 475 |
| Tuberculous | 1 |
| Total | 958 |
(d) Visual Defects and External Eye Disease.—Details of the findings at routine
and special inspections will be found on pages 176 and 189 of this Report, and on
pages 171 to 174,184 and 193 will also be found a record of the work carried out by
the Consulting Ophthalmic Surgeon.
Readers of this Report will have noted that there were 5,374 children
examined by routine inspection. Of these 4,852 were found to have normal vision
and 384 were referred for treatment for defective vision. Of the total number of
children examined by routine inspection 98.7 per cent, were free from any external
eye disease and in the remaining 1.3 per cent, the majority were minor and incidental
inflammations, not likely to lead to any residual disability.