View report page

9
importance; nevertheless it is always easier to put right a defect when it is detected
early and thereby the total amount of repair work required and the total amount of
suffering (and possible malformation) which a child will experience, will vary with
the period at which these defects are diagnosed. With regard to dental treatment
the position, at any rate amongst older toddlers, is considerably worse. No less
than 35 out of 77 three-year olds (45 per cent.) required dental treatment, and 34
out of 62 of the four-year olds (55 per cent.) also required dental treatment. When
these facts are realised it is apparent that school authorities have cause for complaint
regarding the number of defects found in school entrants, and it is hoped that by
recognising and treating defects during the pre-school period many less serious defects
will be apparent in future groups attaining school age.
Two abnormal events loomed large in the work of the department during the
year: firstly the political crisis of August and September; secondly the typhoid
outbreak of November and December. With regard to the former an ever increasing
burden of work has been thrown upon the department in connection with air-raid
precaution services, and for a few weeks during the September crisis a considerable
amount of routine work had to be abandoned. It seems more than a pity that
social activities should suffer in however small a degree from a disordered international
situation but it is apparently unavoidable and therefore the department
has to carry on and adapt itself as best it can.
The other abnormal occurrence, the typhoid outbreak, which is dealt with in
detail in the body of the report, caused much more anxiety at the time than in
retrospect proved necessary. With the public sensitised as it has been by recent large
epidemics the mere fact of having any cases of typhoid at all is sufficiently worrying,
but the prospect of having a large epidemic (as must always seem possible in the
first few days following the report of a group of cases) is a cause of great anxiety to
the department. There were features in this present epidemic which made that
anxiety and apprehension continue for several weeks but luckily they proved to
have no basis. In fact, looked at objectively, the epidemic was a small one, and
up and down the country there have been several such localised outbreaks recently
of typhoid fever caused by a food handler.
An interesting development of health activities during the year was the
institution of a "keep healthy" class for young women between the ages of 16 and
25. It is apparent that there is a gap in the hygienic teaching of young people after
they leave school and before they again come in contact with the welfare centres as
expectant mothers and it was partly in the hope of closing that gap that the class
was started. It consists of weekly meetings for rhythmical exercises and at least
once a month a short talk, possibly followed by one or two films on some hygienic
matter. Miss Glass, one of the health visitors, must be thanked for her interest in
starting this class. Dr. Aitken, also, kindly consented to make medical examinations
of members should this be indicated. It was hoped to run a similar class for young
men and a start on this was made early in 1939, but the international situation