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3
As regards the School Health Service, I am pleased to report
that the health of the school children in the borough continued to be
satisfactory. This service is essentially a preventive one which
calls for the closest possible co-operation with all other branches
of the health service, and every endeavour was made to promote a
good relationship with the hospital and general practitioner services.
There is a wide belief that the number of times a child is
medically examined whilst at school should be reduced. A number of
authorities have replaced routine medical inspections for certain
age groups by selective medical examinations, thus enabling school
medical officers to devote more time to those children who are in
need of special medical care and attention. Three schools in the
borough have been chosen to take part in a pilot scheme where selective
medical examinations will be carried out in 8-year-old children. It
has also been agreed that only follow-up and special medical examinations
will be carried out on children after the school leaving medical
examination at the age of 14-15 years.
During the past year the Oollege of Technology and the Kingston
College of Art introduced a student health service by appointing a
full time Welfare Nursing Officer. The two Senior Medical Officers
made themselves available for consultations by students once a week
and have, in a few instances, been able to offer advice on various
health problems.
Health education in its widest sense must become a normal
part of education. In the report it will be seen that efforts are
being made in this direction.
I look forward next year to having a full-time Health Education
Officer on the staff so that a bigger expansion can be made in this
most important field of work.
The year was again a busy, difficult, and at times a trying
one, with problems of new borough organisation still to the fore.