London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
East Ham 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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100
COMPARATIVE STATISTICS.
The following table indicates briefly the work of the School
Health Service during the year 1947 and shows the comparative
statistics for previous years.
TABLE 36.
| 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Routine and Special Inspections at School: | |||||
| *Maintained Secondary Schools | — | — | 969 | 1,404 | 2,614 |
| *Maintained Primary Schools | — | — | 1,741 | 4,034 | 3,600 |
| †Secondary Schools | 815 | 46 | 125 | — | — |
| †Elementary Schools | 4,453 | 2,844 | 640 | — | — |
| Re-inspections at School | 2,795 | 1,368 | 1,795 | 2,834 | 3,209 |
| Inspections and Re-inspections at Clinics | 22,135 | 19,509 | 14,628 | 11,571 | 11,141 |
| General cleanliness visits to schools | 276 | 227 | 223 | 256 | 281 |
| Examinations for cleanliness | 28,427 | 22,573 | 25,448 | 30,077 | 48,514 |
| Nurses' visits to homes | 4,124 | 2,955 | 1,859 | 1,404 | 1,212 |
*Since 1/4/45.
†Up to 31/3/45.
SCHOOL MEDICAL INSPECTIONS.
Under the Education Act, 1944 (Section 48), all pupils must
be submitted for medical inspection in accordance with arrangements
provided by the authority and generally that such inspection
shall take place on the premises of the school attended by the pupil
concerned and that, as far as practicable, parents shall be given the
opportunity to be present.
A similar procedure is laid down for dental inspection by
experienced dental officers of the authority.
The Council in their wisdom have decided that biennial
inspection of all school-children shall be carried out, to detect
incipient disease, faulty posture and early degrees of maladjustment
in pupils, and to obviate too long a gap between the onset of these
conditions and their discovery and correction.
Additional Routine Medical Inspection sessions were arranged
to embrace this work, and the rich harvest of this labour will be
manifest with the passage of years in a higher level of physique
and mental alertness in our pupils, and progressive diminution in
"schooling time" lost through minor ailments, mental aberration
and behaviour problems.