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 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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73
GENERAL INFORMATION.
At mid-1951 the estimated child population aged 5-14 years inclusive
was 15,479. The average number on roll was 15,724 made up as follows
TABLE 46.
| Type of School | Number of Schools | Average Number on Roll |
|---|---|---|
| County Primary: | ||
| Infant | 17 | 9,950 |
| Junior | 15 | |
| County Secondary | 11 | 4,921 |
| Voluntary (Infant and Junior) | 4 | 853 |
| Totals | + 44 | 15,724 |
| + (3 county schools are combined Infant and Junior) | ||
COMPARATIVE STATISTICS
The following table indicates briefly the work of the School Health
Service during the year 1951, and shows the comparative statistics for
previous years.
TABLE 47.
| 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Routine and Special Inspections at School | 6,214 | 6,873 | 8,603 | 7,196 | 8,016 |
| Re-Inspect ions at School | 3,209 | 2,675 | 3,142 | 2,436 | 2,906 |
| Inspections and Re-inspections at Clinics | 11,141 | 10,748 | 9/686 | 10,369 | 8,676 |
| Examinations for cleanliness | 48,514 | 38,561 | 42,040 | 37,569 | 39,868 |
| Nurses' visits to homes | 1,212 | 3,691 | 8,012 | 4,496 | 4,156 |
ROUTINE INSPECTIONS IN SCHOOLS.
A. Routine Medical Inspections.
The routine medical Inspections still form the backbone of the
School Health Service, although their character has changed somewhat
since the Inception of the system over forty years ago. Originally
the primary object was to detect the many cases of malnutrition and
of serious physical defect, amongst the pupils, and to arrange the necessary
treatment, Nowadays the examination usually enables the Medical Officer
to give the parent the welcome assurance of a "clean bill of health"
leaving time for discussion and to give advice on the multifarious problems
of handling children. In this way a service which commenced by
concentrating on the detection and treatment of illness is now able to
devote itself more and more to fundamental preventive work in the sphere
of mental as well as physical health.
In a previous report, reference was made to the necessity for
adequate accommodation in which to carry out these examinations.