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
Enfield 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Enfield]
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97
department is informed. Joint action is therefore possible in
preventing the spread of infectious disease.
VERMIN.
Of 3,967 children examined at Routine Inspection 5 were found
to have vermin in their hair, and 202 had nits—i.e., 5.2 per cent had
unclean heads.
No child was found to have body vermin.
THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL NURSES.
There are four school nurses. One is attached to each of the
three Treatment Clinics, which she attends daily for the treatment
of minor ailments; one of them is also in charge of the Aural Clinic.
Each nurse is responsible for the following up of children attending
her clinic, for the cleanliness of the scholars attending the schools
which feed her clinic, and for any visits to those schools besides those
for head inspections. In addition to these duties, two of the school
nurses attend in turn at the Routine Medical Inspection to assist
the Medical Officers. The fourth nurse is employed mainly on
dental work assisted by a clerk.
The following is a summary of the work of the school nurses during 1937 and for the past five years :—
| 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of home visits | 2,943 | 2,697 | 2,830 | 2,710 | 2,752 |
| Number of school visits | 621 | 559 | 573 | 535 | 610 |
| Number of school visits for routine examination of heads | 220 | 195 | 184 | 166 | 153 |
| Total number of heads examined | 39,154 | 37,303 | 36,616 | 33,806 | 33,227 |
TREATMENT CLINICS.
There are three Minor Ailment Clinics in Enfield at which a
nurse attends every day. These clinics are held from 2 p.m. to 3.30
p.m. at Eastfield Road School and Lavender Road School, and from
9 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. at Southbury Road School. Every new case
attending the Nurse's Clinic during the week is seen by one of the
Assistant School Medical Officers at the next Doctor's Clinic. One
attendance a week is made by the Assistant School Medical Officer
at Eastfield Road, Lavender Road and Southbury Road Clinics, and
an additional clinic is held on Wednesday mornings at the Southbury
Road Clinic by the Deputy Medical Officer of Health and Assistant
School Medical Officer.
During the course of the year the Committee resolved to build