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are encouraged to refer for examination as "specials"
all children in whom they suspect any physical or mental
defect. These special examinations are carried out in
the schools, at the clinics or at the office of the School
Medical Officer.
Three main age groups have been inspected at the
routine examinations:— Entrants, eight year olds and
leavers.
The Board's Schedule of Medical Inspection has
been followed in its entirety.
Findings of Medical Inspection.
Details of the defects found during medical inspection
are set out in Tables IIa. and IIb. at the end of the
Report.
(a) Uncleanliness.
That the measures adopted to deal with verminous
conditions in school children are proving satisfactory
is shown by the following figures:—
Discovered at routine medical inspection:—
VERMINOUS HEADS.
1921 1922 1923 1924 1925
296(19.7%) 170(11.5%) 136(10.4%) 167(10.5%) 100(8.8%)
DIRTY BODIES.
234 (15.6%) 184(12.4%) 159(12.2%) 172(10.8%) 87(7,7%)
During 1925 the School Nurses made 23,035 examinations
of children and 336 individual children were
found to be unclean.
Twenty-one children were cleansed at the Council's
Cleansing Station, and it is noteworthy that certain
children require cleansing repeatedly. This is largely
due to the fact that these children live in vermin infested
homes along with vermin infested adults, so that cleansing
of the children alone affords only temporary relief.
Sections 45 to 48 of the Public Health Act, 1925, give
8o