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67
PROTECTION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS
Vaccination against tuberculosis continued to be offered to 13-year-old pupils attending both maintained
and independent schools.
After the parent's consent has been obtained a simple skin test is administered to determine whether
or not the child needs protection. If the skin reacts to the test it usually means the child has developed some
immunity, but all such cases are investigated at the Mass X-ray Unit or Chest Clinic. During 1968, the testing
of school entrants normally at the age of five years was continued throughout the Borough. In all cases where
a reaction was noted the child was referred to the Chest Clinic.
The table below gives the number of children tested and vaccinated:—
Leavers
(i) Number of children whose parents were approached 2,825
(ii) Number of children tested 2,135—75.6%
(iii) Number of those in (ii) negative to Heaf Tests 1,709—80%
(iv) Number of those in (iii) B.C.G. vaccinated 1,668—97.6%
(v) Percentage of vaccination to (i) above 59%
Entrants
(i) Number skin tested 4,315
(ii) Number positive 405— 9.4%
(iii) Number negative 3,811—88.3%
CONVALESCENT TREATMENT
Eighteen children were recommended for recuperative holidays under Section 28 of the National Health
Service Health Act, 1946, for which the Education Authority accepted responsibility. These arrangements are
made on the recommendation of the School Medical Officer or General Practitioner in respect of children who
have been found to be in poor health or suffering from a disability for which a holiday is considered to be an
essential part of the recuperative treatment. In no way are they intended to provide annual holidays for children
whose parents are unable to do so.

AUDIOMETRY
This scheme provides for the routine testing by pure tone audiometer of every school child's hearing
three times during their school life, normally at the ages of 6, 9 and 13 years. A "sweep" test is carried out in
the first instance in the school and failures are then retested at clinics under more favourable conditions. Children
failing a second time are then referred to School Medical Officers for further investigation. It has been found
increasingly difficult to maintain the routine testing due to the number of immigrant children being admitted
to school who through language or other difficulties take considerably longer to test, also additional sessions
at the Audiology Unit where the Audiometrician is required has allowed less time for testing in school. It
is hoped to increase the establishment of operators during the coming year.
Special cases (for example, children who fail to develop proper speech, fail without apparent reason
to make progress at school) are also tested at the request of Medical Officers, Speech Therapists, Educational
Psychologists and Head Teachers. A Table showing the numbers dealt with during the year is given
overleaf, the figures for 1967 in brackets.