London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Croydon 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
This page requires JavaScript
258
In the Intermediate group 6.4 per cent. of the boys and
7.8 per cent. of the girls were referred for treatment or observation
for defective vision, and in the Leaver group 10.5 per cent.
of the boys and 11.8 per cent. of the girls. The Leaver group of
girls invariably gives the worst figures for vision. As a whole
there is a slight upward trend in the total number of school
children who require spectacles.
Table V.
| Extent of Defect. | Intermediates. | Leavers. | Total. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls. | Boys. | Girls | Boys. | Girls. | |||||
| No. | % | No | % | No. | % | No. | % | % | % | |
| Normal | R 1371 | 95 3 | 1248 | 94.3 | 692 | 92.3 | 887 | 92.6 | 94.3 | 93.6 |
| 6/6ths. or 6/9ths | L1367 | 95.0 | 1250 | 94.5 | 688 | 91.7 | 877 | 91 5 | 93.9 | 93.2 |
| 6/12ths or6/24th | K 59 | 4.1 | 72 | 5.5 | 51 | 6.8 | 61 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 5.8 |
| L 64 | 4.4 | 68 | 5.1 | 54 | 7.2 | 69 | 7.2 | 5.4 | 6.0 | |
| 6/36(1)5. or worse | R 9 | 0 6 | 3 | 0.2 | 7 | 0.9 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| L 8 | 0.6 | 5 | 0.4 | 8 | 1.1 | 12 | 13 | 0.7 | 0.8 | |
Table VI. TEETH.
| Entrants. | Intermediates. | Leavers. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | |||||||
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| Perfect set of Teeth | 1023 | 52.9 | 1020 | 53.0 | 974 | 67.7 | 936 | 70.8 | 537 | 71.6 | 707 | 73.8 |
| One to four decayed | 526 | 27.2 | 484 | 25.1 | 293 | 20.4 | 261 | 19.7 | 187 | 24.9 | 227 | 23.7 |
| Four or more decayed | 384 | 19.9 | 422 | 21.9 | 172 | 11.9 | 126 | 9.5 | 26 | 3.5 | 24 | 2.5 |
| Total | 1933 | 1926 | 1439 | 1323 | 750 | 958 | ||||||
It is interesting to note that 5,208 children of all groups, or
62.4 per cent., were said to have sound teeth at medical inspection.
The percentage of sound teeth found by the Dental
Inspectors was 31 per cent. The examination made by the dentists
is more searching than that made by the medical inspectors, who
tire instructed to concentrate rather on purely medical signs. The
need for systematic instruction on the care of the teeth is certainy
indicated.