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
Chiswick 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Chiswick]
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Pulmonary Tuberculosis and two were suspected cases of
that disease.
(b) Uncleanliness.— Of the 1,699 children examined at
Routine Inspections, 107 were classified as unclean. These
were all of a comparatively mild nature, found almost
entirely among the girls, and were cases of nits in the hair.
In only one case was it found necessary to exclude the child
from School. They were children from the more populous
districts where home conditions made perfect cleanliness a
matter of real difficulty. These examinations are made after
notice to the parents, and in nearly every case there was
evidence that attempts had been made to cleanse the hair of
their children.
A better idea of this condition of the children will be found in the following Table, which is made from the School Nurses' Reports at their Personal Hygiene Examinations :—
| School. | No. of visits made by Nurses. | No. of Examinations. | Cases of U ncleanli-ness. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont Girls' | 43 | 1,882 | 229 |
| Belmont Infants' | 24 | 1,098 | 88 |
| Glebe Infants' | 30 | 2,391 | 181 |
| Hogarth Girls' | 29 | 1,986 | 547 |
| Hogarth Infants' | 7 | 497 | 126 |
| Strand Girls' | 25 | 1,210 | 152 |
| Strand Infants' | 17 | 1,008 | 90 |
| Totals | 175 | 10,070 | 1,413 |
The 19 children seen at Special Inspections were those
referred to the School Medical Officer by School Nurses from
the Personal Hygiene Examinations.
(c) Minor Ailments.—Table II shews that 104 defects
classified uuder this heading were found at Routine Inspections
and 1,105 at Special Inspections.