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134
The Service is hampered by the very inadequate and unsuitable
accommodation which continues to hinder progress and
improvement in our methods of ensuring the health and
physical welfare of the school child."
1932—There were 19,770 children on the School Roll. The number
of routine and special cases of elementary school children
examined totalled 10,458 as compared with 10,016 in the
year 1931 : a complete medical inspection of all the scholars
in the Secondary Schools has also been carried out.
There is no doubt that the extraordinary growth of our
school medical work has been remarkable, but it is quite
impossible to further overcrowd the Clinics and Office.
The Central Clinic and Administrative Office, at the top of
the Town Hall building, has undergone no extension since
the year 1911, on the contrary, the accommodation has been
reduced by one room, and the congestion and overcrowding
is a matter for very serious consideration. This Clinic is
in use during every available session throughout the week.
The accommodation at the North Woolwich and Manor
Park Clinics remains as it was in the year 1917, when
Church Rooms were utilized as a temporary war-time
measure. However, there appears to be some definite indication
that more suitable premises will be available for these
two branch Clinics in the near future. The provision of an
up-to-date and properly equipped Central Clinic, with
adequate Office accommodation, is a very urgent necessity.
The Local Education Authority has reached the peak
of that progress and efficiency in the Medical Service which
it is possible to attain under present conditions of accommodation.
For this reason my report for the year 1932 consists,
for the most part, of statistical data.
It is with feelings of confidence and satisfaction that I
relinquish my position as School Medical Officer : the administration
of the School Medical Service is firmly and efficiently established,
the results obtained have more than justified the
expenditure, and the vastly improved health and physical welfare
of the scholars of East Ham are gratifying testimonies to the value
of the Medical Inspection and Treatment of School Children.