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Two Yearly Eye Tests in Schools
As a result of the findings (luring our work on "Sibling Visions* which I mentioned
in previous reports and which were published in the •Medical Officer" of
lst September, 1961, we continued until recently to check the vision of all school
age sibling of children known to have defective vision, as well as doing the
visions with our routine school medical examinations.
I have, however, now reached the conclusion that too many children suffer
from unrecognized and quite severely defective vision for a number of years becauss
school inspections have become so widely spaced. Some of you may remember that
in Dr. Williams's time we aimed at annual school medical inspections, and even with
inevitable delays most children were seen at least every two years. After 1948 however,
a uniform method of carrying out school inspections was gradually adopted
throughout Essex, and as a result school inspections are now only carried out at
school entrance, at age 11 years and at school leaving. Thus, some children are
left up to five or more years without medical examination.
Because of this long gap, I have now decided that the vision of all schoolchildren
must be checked at least once every two years, and this is now being
carried out in all the schools. I am afraid a large amount of extra work has fallen
on the school nurses and the clerical staff and, to some extent, on the schools,
but l am convinced these examinations are very important and worth the extra
effort.
Pediatric Clinic
A Consultant Paediatrician, Dr. T. Savage of the Regional Hospital Board
holds a session each fortnight at the Upney Clinic, and during 1962 schoolchildren
were seen as follows:-
New Cases 28
Re-examination 74
Total attendances 102
Enuresis Clinic
As bed-wetttng continues to be both an embarrassing and serious problem of
some school children, the subject was discussed with Dr. Savage, the Consultant
Paediatrician barking Hospital. With his approval, it was decided to give these
children more facilities for treatment
A special clinic for the treatment of children with enuresis, using the Electric
Buzzer Method, was started in March 1962 at Upney Clinic and is held every two
weeks. Previously, such children had been seen by the Consultant Paediatrician
during his paediatric clinic, but the amount of work involved necessitated a sepa-
The clinic is run by the Deputy Medical Officer of Health who acts as a
clinical Assistant to the Paediatrician. The administration, supply and maintenance
of buzzers is done by a clinic nurse and a member of the administrative staff whole
assistance is invaluable to the satisfactory running of the clinic.
During a full year (March 1962-March 1963), 123 children attended the clinic,
which included 53 new patients.
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