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(2) EVACUATION.
(a) Madical arrangements. The Committee
will recall that in my Annual Report for 1939 I
commented on the fact that no provision was made
in the first evacuation plan for the soecial medical
examination of children before departure to
the Reception Areas.
Early in 1940 the Minister of Health
issued to Evacuation Authorities some recommendations
on this subject. The London County Council
convened a conference of School Medical Officers
of Authorities included in the Metropolitan
Evacuation Scheme and, as your representative, I
attended this conference on the 11th March 1940.
Detailed arrangements were agreed upon for the
medical examination of children registered for
evacuation and I had the honour to be nominated
to serve on a Sub-Committee appointed to discuss
this aspect of evacuation with medical representatives
of the Reception Authorities.
This Sub-Committee met in London on the
23rd May, 1940, and coming away from the conference
I was satisfied:-
(i) That all possible steps had been taken
in Barking;
(ii) That direct contact should be maintained
between the Evacuating and Reception
Authorities, both by visits by His Worship
the Mayor and representative Councillors
and by Officers of the Authority. In
this connection I learnt from the Medical
Officer representing Somerset that the visit
of His Worship the Mayor was still
remembered, by reason of the keen interest
he took in the evacuees from Barking.- The
Authority has continued this policy of visits
of its members to the Reception Areas;
(iii) That apart from medical inspection more
care should be taken to see that all evacuees
are properly clothed, and especially
that not only do they have good footwear
but footwear suitable for the country
and
(iv) That so far as be practicable children who
have not been registered for evacuation
should be kept under medical review in
order to ensure their medical fitness for
evacuation.
(b) Plan IV Movement. Notwithstanding the
comparatively large number of late registrations,
all of the 2,352 children who left Barking during
June 1940, under Plan IV, for Wiltshire, Oxfordshire,
Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, Devonshire
and South Wales, were medically inspected and every
label aporopriately marked in accordance with the
approved Code of symbols.
The "initial" inspections were conducted
by the Authority's medical staff but with regard
to the "Pinal" inspections, sixteen general
medical practitioners agreed to hold themselves
in readiness to assist your medical staff, if
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