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
Walthamstow 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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21
7. FOLLOWING UP.
The School Nurses made 3,598 visits to the homes of children as set out below
| Tonsils and Adenoids | 514 | Dental Defects | 1,300 |
| Measles | 31 | Whooping Cough | 520 |
| Defects of Vision, etc. | 473 | Chicken Pox | 30 |
| Sore Throat | 52 | Mumps | 235 |
| Scabies | 8 | Impetigo | 28 |
| Otorrhoea | 40 | Ringworm | 9 |
| Various | 65 | Rheumatism | 32 |
| Uncleanliness | 41 | Nursery School Absentees | 220 |
The total for the year compares with 863 during 1930, and an
average of 1,108 for the past five years. The large increase is due
to several factors, e.g., the incidence of Non-Notifiable Infectious
Diseases such as Whooping Cough, Measles and Mumps, the
systematic visiting of failures to attend for Dental Treatment,
similar visiting in connection with absentees from the Nursery
School, and increased visiting for purely "following up" purposes.
The School Nurses attend at all medical inspections and staff the
various Clinics, e.g., Aural, Minor Ailment, Ophthalmic,
Rheumatism, Ringworm and Tonsillectomy Clinics, and also carry
out extensive cleanliness surveys, as already detailed.
Several ' 'following up'' visits were paid at the request of the
Almoners of various Metropolitan General Hospitals, and written
reports were given of the findings.
8. MEDICAL TREATMENT.
(b) at the end of the Report. The percentages of children require treatment were as follows:—
| Code Groups. | 1931. | 1930. |
|---|---|---|
| Entrants | 10.4 | 7.8 |
| Intermediate | 12.3 | 14.2 |
| Leavers | 15.6 | 14.4 |
| Total (Code Groups) | 12.2 | 11.6 |
| Other Routine Inspections | 12.1 | 13.6 |
Minor Ailments.—The treatment of minor ailments is carried
out at the seven sessions of the School Clinics which are detailed
earlier in the Report, all of which are in charge of a Medical Officer.
Table IV, Group 1 (Board of Education), at the end of the Report,
shows the number of defects treated during the year.