View report page

6
PART I. MEDICAL INSPECTION IN SCHOOLS
The medical Inspection of school children at fixed intervals during
their school lives has been an integral part of the development of the
School Health Service, and the following system of routine medical inspection
has been adopted in all maintained schools within the Borough and in
other schools which have requested it
(i) Entrants
Children admitted for the first time to school and not already
examined as Entrants, i.e. normally between 5 years and 6 years.
(ii) 8 Year Old Group
Children in their second year in a Junior School, unless previously
examined in the Junior School.
(iii) Entrants to Secondary School
Children in their first year in a Secondary School.
(iv) Final Leavers
Children in their last year of attendance at school who have not
been medically examined in that year.
(v) Special Cases
Children of any age whom the Head Teacher and parents wish the
Medical Officer to see at his next visit.
The number of routine medical inspections completed during the year
showed a further increase, and the total figure of 18,378 is the highest
yet recorded in the Borough. This represents a large investment in both
finance and manpower, so that the need for these examinations must be
constantly reviewed. The proportion of medical defects discovered during
these routine inspections continues to fall, and it is argued by many that
an examination of every child is no longer necessary. If a smaller number
of children were examined, the medical time available to those children
would be significantly increased to the benefit of both the child and the
doctor who would find such comprehensive examinations more attractive
than the inspection of large numbers of healthy children. It is known that
a large proportion of the medical defects which are found at these routine
inspections occur amongst a small proportion of the children who are
examined, so that the concept of selecting children for a medical examination
is theoretically very attractive.
Unfortunately, despite experimental work extending over fifteen years,
none of the schemes of selective medical inspections which have so far
been introduced have shown themselves capable of identifying satisfactorily
the small group of children who are likely to have medical defects.
It is quite clear that the various methods of selection which have been
advocated are not sufficiently precise to ensure that only those children
with medical defects will be exartined, nor even to ensure that the children
who have such defects will in fact be selected. The need to ensure maximum