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

Ealing 1935

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]

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Table: (b) Uncleanliness .—The measures taken to deal with unclean-liness and verminous condition were fully described in the report for 1934. The number of children found unclean in the last three years were as follows :—

(b) Uncleanliness .—The measures taken to deal with unclean-liness and verminous condition were fully described in the report for 1934. The number of children found unclean in the last three years were as follows :—

Year.Average number on Rolls.No. of examinations for verminous condition.No. of individual children found unclean.Legal proceedings taken.
193313,25327,438625—
193414,07730,1837608
193514,46332,9517552

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The number of children found unclean in Ealing is less than
that found generally, but despite this there is still considerable
loss of school attendance following the discovery of verminous
condition. There is a number of families where every inspection
results in the exclusion of several children and where the exclusion
of the children and the subsequent visits of the nurses make little
or no impression on the mothers as to the necessity of maintaining
their children's heads in a cleanly condition. Unfortunately,
children from bad homes are the means of spreading vermin among
other children and careful mothers are given a more constant task
in keeping their children clean. It is proposed to adopt more
drastic action regarding the regular offenders.
FOLLOWING UP.
The arrangements made for following up children found at
routine or special inspections to be suffering from defective conditions
have been given in detail in previous years. The number
of visits made by the School Nurses during the year under review
was 4,243.