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18
The foregoing Tables show that the incidence of non-notifiable
infectious disease has remained heavy. The School Nurses
continue to visit all cases of non-notifiable infectious disease, and,
as has been pointed out in previous years, this work takes up a
very large part of the nurses' visiting time and when the number of
cases is large the other work suffers to some extent.
As usual in cases of Diphtheria, all home contacts have been
swabbed, and in cases where it was thought that the infection
might be in the school, all school contacts have also been examined.
A very successful campaign has been carried on during the year
with regard to immunisation against diphtheria, and a full report
of this work will appear in my Annual Report as Medical Officer
of Health.
7 FOLLOWING UP
Every possible care is taken that no child requiring treatment
shall be allowed to continue without it. Parents are notified in
writing of all physical defects discovered in their children during
routine medical inspection, and those parents who take advantage
of our invitation and attend the inspection, receive verbal advice
also. A special " Following-up " card is then made out, and one
of the School Nurses visits the home and explains how treatment
can be obtained. Further visits are paid from time to time as may
be necessary.
The great activity in the work of following-up is demonstrated
by the fact that nurses paid over eighteen hundred visits in this
connection during the year.
The most difficult feature of this work is the wilful neglect
of certain parents whose obstinacy fails to respond to persuasion:
Such cases have to be referred to the Committee, who generally
decide to pass the case on to the National Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Children.
The following is a list of the School Nurses' duties, with brief
statistics of their activities.
DUTIES.
1. Attend Routine Medical Inspections at schools with the
Medical Officer, and assist in weighing and measuring children, etc.