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75
County Borough of East Ham Education Committee
To the Chairman and Members of the Education Committee.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present my Annual Report on the School Health Service
for the year 1946.
This service has laboured under an awkward handicap in that it
is expected to enhance its efforts in implementing the provisions of the
Education Act, 1944, without having available suitable accommodation,
adequate equipment, and sufficient medical personnel.
Briefly stated, the needs of the school children will best be served
if—
(1) Adequate accommodation and equipment are placed at the
disposal of the Medical Officer in the Schools to enable the medical
inspections to be carried out with completeness, care, and befitting
privacy.
An ante-room for disrobing and waiting, separate from the
examination room, is imperative. The doctor cannot properly
interrogate a mother in the sight and hearing of other mothers and
children.
For many obvious reasons a classroom or laboratory is not the
proper place for medical inspections.
(2) More frequent inspection than that required by the Act. This
has been agreed to by the Education Committee and entails the
appointment of additional staff.
With the institution of biennial medical examination, every
school child will be under continuous surveillance.
(3) The enhancement of the School Health Clinics (formerly known
as the Minor Ailment Clinics) to provide a comprehensive service.
(4) The provision of a Central Dispensary to carry out the prescribed
treatment expeditiously with a minimum of expense.
(5) The provision of a Physiotherapy Department to assist in the
correction of postural and other deformities and to carry out aftertreatment
prescribed by consultants at various hospitals and clinics,
with a minimum loss of schooling time.