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360
FOLLOWING UP.
Fourteen district health visitors are connected with the work
of school medical inspection and of following up children suffering
from defects.
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 is a summary of the work done by the health
visitors in connection with this part of their duties:—
Visits to Elementary and Secondary Schools for
medical inspection 545
Number of children prepared for medical inspection 19242
Home visits (following up) arising out of medical
inspection 5752
Home visits arising out of dental inspection 1029
Other home visits (excluding those for infectious
diseases) 3240
It will be seen that 10,021 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; an increase
of 1,300 over the number for 1925.
Surveys for Condition of Uncleanliness.
Systematic surveys were made of all departments of all public
elementary schools in the Borough throughout the year.
An average of from 10 to 11 visits was paid to each school for
that purpose by the health visitor, and 59,164 examinations of
children carried out. In 3,889 of these, or 6.5 per cent., the
children were found to show verminous conditions in some
degree
No legal proceedings were taken during the year in connection
with such cases, either under the Education Act, 1921, or
under the School Attendance Bye-laws; but children were
excluded and dealt with in accordance with the Committee's
Standing Orders in regard to such conditions.
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