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134
FOLLOWING UP.
From January to September seven, and from September to the
end of the year—following the amalgamation of duties referred to
previously—thirteen health visitors were concerned in following
up school children suffering from physical defects, with a view to
their improvement or remedy. Each health visitor is responsible
for this work in her own district. In the first place the health
visitor helps to prepare the children for medical inspection, and
ascertains from the medical officer the nature of any defects found.
Immediately after each medical inspection at a school, information
is sent to the parents of children requiring medical attention, and
this is reinforced where advisable by visits to the home by the
health visitor. The following table indicates the large amount of
work done by the health visitors in connection with this part of
their duties:—
Visits to Elementary and Secondary Schools for
medical inspection 520
Number of children prepared for medical inspection 16963
Other visits to Elementary Schools 632
Home visits (following up) arising out of medical
inspection 5501
Home visits arising out of dental inspection 2617
Other home visits (excluding those for infectious
diseases) 2406
It will be seen that 10,524 visits were paid to the homes by the
health visitors in the endeavour to ensure that proper treatment was
provided for the remedy of physical defects.
Surveys for Conditions of Uncleanliness.
Head Teachers are each provided with an authority to inspect
the persons and clothing of children suspected of being in an
uncleanly condition. Where the condition is not extreme, such
children are given one week in which to become cleansed; if still
dirty, they are then excluded. Where there is obviously active
infestation the child is excluded forthwith and is visited at home by
a health visitor on receipt of notice of such exclusion by the School
Medical Officer.
Early in the year some modification was made in the arrangements
for surveys of the children for uncleanly and verminous
conditions, and a procedure was instituted whereby systematic
surveys were made of all departments of all public elementary
schools in the Borough, instead of only those in which exclusions
or complaints by teachers suggested an undue prevalence of such