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

Kingston upon Thames 1926

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]

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52
The old dust pit has been demolished and replaced by a
sanitary dustbin.
In the Infants' Department new basins have been provided
in the outside wash-house.
The w.c.'s are now flushed four times a day, and the
urinal for infant boys has been relined with glazed slabbing
and the walls distempered.
MEDICAL INSPECTION.
All Departments of every School are visited by the
School Medical Officer each term for the purpose of carrying
out Routine, Special, and Re-inspections.
A full description of the methods employed at these
inspections was set out in last year's Annual Report.

Table: Parents are warned beforehand as to the hour their children are to be medically examined at Routine Inspections, and during the year attended as follows :—

Parents are warned beforehand as to the hour their children are to be medically examined at Routine Inspections, and during the year attended as follows :—

No. of Children Examined.No. of Parents
present.Percentage.
Entrants,Boys28123182%
Girls24319781%
Intermediates,Boys1779453%
Girls18712567%
Leavers,Boys2458334%
Girls25713854%

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The above percentages equal those of last year, which
were the highest yet attained.
FINDINGS OF MEDICAL INSPECTION.
(a) Uncleanliness.
Efforts are still being made to shorten the period which
elapses between the issue of an exclusion certificate by the
School Medical Officer, and the appearance of the parent
before the School Attendance Sub-Committee, and later
before the Justices.
I am glad to be able to note that during the year there
has been a speeding up in this direction, and that only in
eight instances has it been necessary to take legal proceedings.
At Routine Medical Inspections, 87 children were found
unclean, and the School Nurses at their cleanliness surveys
discovered 857 individual children requiring treatment for
uncleanliness.