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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]
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61
UNCLEANLINESS.
All elementary school children in the Borough are examined
for cleanliness three times a year and if in any school the number
of verminous children is found to be unusually high subsequent
monthly inspections are made.
When a child is found to have a few nits in the head a leaflet
is sent to the parents giving instructions regarding methods of
cleansing but if lice or over 20 nits are found the child is immediately
excluded from school. An exclusion notice is sent to the
head teacher and also to the parents with instructions to present
the child for examination at the Health Centre when the head
has been cleansed. The child is not re-admitted to school until
quite clean. It is often necessary for the School Nurses to make
several visits to a home to make sure that the necessary steps are
being taken by the mother and if nothing is done within seven
days the parents are warned that a summons may be issued if
the child is not cleansed.
The following table shows the number of children found to be unclean in the last four years.
| Year. | Average number on Rolls. | No. of examinations for verminous condition. | No. of individual children found unclean. | Legal proceedings taken under Attendance Byelaws. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | 14,463 | 32,951 | 755 | 2 |
| 1936 | 15,251 | 33,578 | 830 | 8 |
| 1937 | 17,062 | 39,955 | 882 | 21 |
| 1938 | 18,107 | 43,372 | 1,200 | 18 |
The figure of 1,200 for unclean children appears a large increase
over the figure of 882 for 1937, but it is not due to any increase
in uncleanliness; it is due to the inclusion in the number of all
children with nits however small in number. Formerly children with
a very few nits were not classified as unclean.