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43
treatment of most of the minor ailments. During the year the
school nurses made 60,394 examinations, exclusive of those made
whilst accompanying the Medical Officer. In this number 58 children
were found who harboured body vermin, 994 children showed
vermin and many nits in the hair, whilst 3,123 children showed
only a few nits.
Only moderate satisfaction can be derived from these figures,
for whilst the great majority of school children excel in the care
of their person there remains a certain number who are always
more or less unsatisfactory—a shame to themselves and a menace
to others. It must be clearly understood—and this is a point
the School Medical Staff must ever bear in mind—that the fault
does not lie with the children themselves. They are the victims
of circumstances, and their unhappy condition is due to lack of
parental care and to the squalor and filth of their homes.
Thus the problem extends outside the scope of school work,
for it is quite impossible to expect children to be free of vermin
if other members of the household are infested. The responsibility
undoubtedly lies with the parents. I am not convinced,
however, that wholesale prosecution is the remedy, especially in
these times when houses are overcrowded or tenanted by more
than one family, when unemployment is rife and actual want not
unknown. I do feel, however, that a Cleansing Station should be
available for use when necessary where assistance could be rendered
to parents who were striving to do better and which would
enable disciplinary action to be taken where persuasion had finally
failed.
Minor Ailments.
(b) With a comprehensive scheme of clinics in operation
within easy access of the various schools in the Borough, it is not
surprising that few minor ailments were discovered at routine
medical inspection. Most of these ailments were detected by the
school teachers or nurses at an early stage, and speedily remedied
at one of the clinics.
The part played by the clinics in keeping school children free
from minor ailments may best be realised by an examination of the
following table, which shows that while many minor ailments did