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
Havering 1971
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Havering]
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concerned with the child's welfare. These examinations are
usually carried out at the regular school clinic sessions held at
each of the Council's clinics. Follow-up examinations resulting
from previous periodic or special inspections are also arranged as
required.
1,170 special medical examinations and 2,762 follow-up
examinations were arranged during the year. These do not include
the special medical inspections necessitated by the Education
(Milk) Act 1971, which are mentioned later in this report.
Defects found at special medical inspections included the following:—
| Condition | Requiring Treatment | Requiring Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Defective Vision | 64 | 150 |
| Defective Hearing | 83 | 166 |
| Nose and Throat conditions | 14 | 58 |
| Speech disorders | 16 | 12 |
| Developmental abnormalities | 12 | 81 |
| Skin diseases | 137 | 26 |
| Psychological conditions | 35 | 144 |
| Orthopaedic defects | 50 | 61 |
The number of routine screening tests of vision and hearing carried out by school nurses was as follows:—
| Vision Tests | Hearing Tests | |
|---|---|---|
| Infants | 7,562 | 7,015 |
| Juniors | 14,047 | 9,620 |
| Secondary | 4,836 | 1,830 |
| Special School pupils | 384 | 295 |
| Totals | 26,829 | 18,760 |
Any child failing a screening test is referred to the School
doctor with a view to further investigation. Colour vision is also
tested during the last year in the Junior school and pupils found
to have defective colour vision are given advice. This condition
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