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81
To the Chairman and Members of the Welfare Committee.
School Health Service.
The School Health report for the year 1952 follows the usual
form. It shows that the school child is maintaining a good
standard of health and that we have not been faced with any
outbreak of a debilitating disease. The problems met with in
the early years of the School Health Service, e.g., impetigo,
ringworm (scalp), the unclean child and rickets, have very
largely disappeared. We can safely say that the nutrition and
care of children has improved, an improvement which, while not
wholly due to the School Health Service over the past thirty
years, can be placed to the effort of enlightened Education
Committees.
Although the medical inspections at school of routine age
groups do not now show, and have not shown over the last
decade, the grossly neglected defects so common in the early
days of the Service, we still meet with defects of vision, defects
affecting nose and throat and minor physical and orthopaedic
deformities. The problem "behaviour" child is always before
us, but in the main this is not the fault of the child and in most
cases the problem is overstressed.
The year saw changes in medical staff. The retirements of
Drs. Stinson and Orgler and the redistribution of work to two
instead of three Assistant Medical Officers has led to economy
while maintaining efficiency.
The clerical and statistical work of the School Health Service
entails close and detailed recording in order to compile the official
forms and records. It is a section of the work which is unfortunately
increasing.
I have again this year included the report of the Advisers of
Physical Education for I believe full publicity should be given
to this very valuable work in the physical development of the
school child.
The reports of the specialists, Dr. Lyle and Mr. Hulbert,
speak for themselves. Mr. King's report on the School Dental
Service shows the line of progress of a service which, during
recent years, passed through the doldrums.
Dr. Carter-Locke has continued the inspection of eight
Independent Schools, a work which is receiving the full support
of the parents of children attending these schools and is of proved
value to the schools themselves.