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 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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The second table gives comparative totals for 1950 and
1961. (Percentages in Brackets).
TABLE II
| Year | GROUP I | GROUP II | GROUP III | GROUP IV | TOTAL | Number with Brain Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 64(61.5%) | 27(26%) | 4(3.8%) | 9(8.7%) | 104 | 15(14.4%) |
| 1961 | 18(19.2%) | 59(62.7%) | 9(9.6%) | 8(8.5%) | 94 | 26(27.7%) |
These figures clearly show the increasing proportion of
children admitted because of hereditary and congenital defects
(which usually cannot be prevented and often are not capable
of effective treatment). These, with the psycho somatic
disorders, now account for just over 72% of the children
compared with 30% in 1950. During the same period the proportion
suffering from acquired defects fell from 61.5% to
19.2, while the number of children suffering from brain damage
has almost doubled. It follows naturally that a high percentage
of intellectually impaired children are included and Table
III gives the normal distribution of intelligence quotients
contrasted with those estimated for the Wingfield House
children in 1950 and 1961.
TABLE III
| Normal Dist ribution % | 1 | 14 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 19 |
| Wingfield House 1950 | 11 | 13 | 34 | 32 | 6 | 4 |
| Wingfield House 1961 | 12 | 38 | 17 | 22 | 9 |
This table shows a definite shift to the left: 50 per
cent of the Wingfield House children now fall into the dull
and E.S.N. categories compared with 24 per cent ten years ago
and the 15 per cent of a normal population. This is
associated with a higher proportion of brain damaged children.
Thus the eighteen cerebral palsied children have an average
I.Q. of 76.55 and the six epileptics average just below 66.
The relatively high proportion of children in the 1950 school
who scored below average' is probably mainly accounted for
by loss of schooling due to physical illness - a factor which
is now much less significant.