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81
The summary of defects found at the Reception Centre 1968/69 does not
include all those types of defects given in Table 4 because total numbers
are small and only those defects showing numerical significance are given.

By comparison with 1969 local figures the following conclusions seem
justified -
(i) Vision defects in all groups of female immigrants vary between 50%
and 100% above the rates for locally born. West Indian and Asian boys also
have a raised incidence of vision defects, but the proportion is lower.
(ii) Nose and throat defects in the "others" group is higher, whereas
the West Indian is lower.
(iii) Heart defects in Asian boys show a marked excess, with slight rise
in boys of West Indian and "other" groups.
(iv) Stability - with the exception of the European group, the proportion
of defects is lower.
It must be noted that although these figures are of interest, in a survey
of this number of children, no definite significance can be argued. A medical
examination will reveal overt defects, e.g. vision and heart, but may not
reveal others, e.g. chest defect, nervous system and psychological defects
for which a history of symptoms is required. Many immigrant parents have
limited English and therefore are not always able to give a history of
symptoms; while others have only recently been re-united with their children,
after several years of separation, and have a limited knowledge of their
child's medical history, with the result that some problems may be overlooked
at the medical inspection. This is probably the case with psychological
development and stability, where difficulties become manifest later on.
At the medical examination the heights and weights of all the children
are measured.