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8
Paediatric:
Thursday (alt.)
9 a. m. - 12 noon
Town Hall
Speech Therapy
By appointment
Old Monoux School
and Wingfield House
Immunisat ion•
Wednesday
2 p.m. -4 p.m.
Town Hall
GENERAL
The general standard of health has been maintained during the year.
There has been no marked change in the incidence of disease or in
the special defects discovered.
The volume of work and the time spent on School Health has remained
the same.
The shortage of staff in the dental and psychiatric fields reflects
the continuing pressures on these two departments. Even so, there has
been a slight improvement in the waiting list of the Child Guidance
Clinic and we have been able to recruit one dental auxiliary to the
Dental Department.
Health Education continues to play an important part in our work.
The report of the Royal College of Physicians on Smoking and Health
prompted a concentrated drive on this specific subject during the year.
The amount of Health Education given to school-children is difficult of
accurate statistical assessment, but it must be considerable.
Dr. Hinden departs from his usual form of report and echoes all our
concern with a type of congenital handicap which is environmental in
origin, i.e. the defects developing in the unborn child as a result of
the mother contracting German Measles. He offers the novel solution of
encouraging infection amongst children, especially- girls, rather than
trying to prevent it. Thus they acquire a lasting immunity against the
disease and will be in no danger of passing the infection to their own
unborn children when they themselves become mothers. This would be an
ideal solution if one could ensure that when children are deliberately
exposed to German Measles they do not pass it on to their mothers,
sisters, or other women who may at that time be pregnant.
There is a hope that the problems may be solved by active immun
isation of all children before leaving school. A vaccine for Measles is
already in being and shows great promise. Is it not, therefore, too much
to hope that it will not be long before a successful vaccine for German
Measles will be discovered?