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seen at frequent intervals. Children who have been excluded
for uncleanliness are seen in school by the school nurses
before they are allowed to return to their classes.
The nurses paid an average of 148 visits to each school
for uncleanliness inspections during the year; 18,393 in
spections were made and 294 individual children were found
not to comply with the rigid standard which is enforced.
At routine medical inspection the heads of 96 or 5.98%
of the children were found not to be entirely satisfactory
while 5 or .31% had dirty bodies.
(c) Minor Ailments and Skin Diseases.
Few cases of minor ailments are found at routine inspection
as these are sent to the school clinics by parents,
teachers, and school nurses as soon as they are discovered.
Three cases of scabies were found at routine inspections,
while at special inspections six cases of ringworm of the
scalp, eight of ringworm of the body, forty cases of impetigo,
sixteen cases of scabies, and sixty of other skin diseases
were discovered.
(d) Visual Defects and External Eye Disease.
Sixty-six or 4.11% of the children at routine inspection
were found to be suffering from some fairly serious defect
of vision while 45 others were found at special inspections.
A considerable number of children who had already been
supplied with spectacles were referred to the School Oculist
as a result of re-examination. In all 197 children were referred
for refraction.
In December a census was taken of the children who
had spectacles. On a certain day, out of 4,146 children who
were present 401 or 9.7% had spectacles. The percentage
for a whole department varied from 16 in a senior department
to 2 in an infant department. The highest percentage
for a particular class was 30 in the top class in a junior
department.
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