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entry to school, on reaching the age of seven years and
again at twelve years of age. A further age group of ten
years old children was incorporated in the age groups, but
time available to the staff has unavoidably prevented the
carrying out of this work.
A routine medical examination of employed children
is carried out. Under the Bye-laws no child is allowed to
be employed until a medical certificate from the School
Medical Officer, certifying fitness to be employed, has been
granted.
Further special medical examinations of children are
carried out at the schools and school clinics. Including
routine medical inspections and other inspections a total
of 7,153 were made during 1935.
All children with defects are given an appointment to
attend the School Clinic, where the defects are investigated
and whenever possible alleviated. All abnormal children
referred by head teachers, school attendance officers or by
the school nurses likewise come under special medical
supervision. The Juvenile Court also refers certain cases
for medical opinion. Where a school attendance officer
finds it difficult to obtain a medical certificate after illness
the child is referred to be medically examined prior to
return to school.
All these examinations offer a very wide field for
preventive service, and I am convinced that the sum total
has the effect of improving the standard of health of the
elementary school child.
The mere medical inspection is but the beginning of
the putting into action of those services that are offered
through the special clinics, viz., Eye Clinic, Orthopaedic
Clinic, Dental Clinic, Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic,
Sunlight Clinic, and various other accessory services
offered by voluntary associations in the Borough.
I would refer the reader to the appendix of this report
where Table I. gives the number of children examined at
routine medical inspections at school and the number of
children examined at the school clinic. The particular
defects discovered are under Table II., where it will be seen