London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Croydon 1971
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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Special Inspections have again shown a marked increase of 12½% which
has been the pattern, except for last year, for some years. This indicates
that Head Teachers and parents, who ask for most of these inspections,
remain convinced of the help the School Health Service can provide, and
underlines the need for its retention under the proposed reorganisation of the
Health Services. Most of these special examinations (95%) are also conducted
in school so that if necessary the Medical Officer and Teacher can discuss
the problem as it relates to the child's school life.
The proportion of parents attending the school medical examination has
increased but only significantly in the group of school leavers. Here the
figures tell a surprising story. Twice as many parents have attended with
their teen-age children as in previous years. It is true that this still only
represents about 10% of the children in the group but it is an unexpected
though very welcome finding, and it will be most interesting to see if this
pattern continues in future years.
Table 2. Attendance of Parents at School Medical Inspections
| 1971 | 1970 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | |
| Entrants | 84.0% | 84.0% | 84.3% | 83.8% |
| Leavers | 9.3% | 10.9% | 4.4% | 5.8% |
| Others | 57.3% | 56.1% | 58.0% | 58.7% |
| Total Nos. of Children examined | 9,346 | 8,834 | 9,491 | 9,339 |
| Total Attendance of Parents | 57.0% | 54.4% | ||
The total number of defects discovered which appeared to need treatment
was 6,411, and the number requiring observation 7,168; both show a
decrease from last year but no more than can be accounted for by the lower
number of medical inspections carried out. Full details are given in Table 3.
The number of visits to non-maintained schools is much the same as in
the previous year, details being given in Appendix C, Page 62.
Personal Hygiene
The previous year's problem of head infestation was still very much
present at the beginning of the year under review. During the period the
number of children inspected for cleanliness rose by 11% in an effort to
overcome a condition which causes a great deal of worry to many mothers.
Leaflets were also issued to schools for distribution to increase parent's
awareness of the possibility of infestation and to indicate how it can be
recognised. In the Winter Term a new preparation based on malathion, an
insecticide formerly used in agriculture, came into general use. It has been