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
West Ham 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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(22) Medical Inspection of Pupils at the West Ham High School
for Girls.
(23) Examination of Children attending Centres for the Deaf by
Specialist Aural Surgeon.
(24) Examination of Referred Pupils from Continuation Schools
and Juvenile Unemployment Centres.
(25) Examination of Children attending Nursery Schools.
(26) Work in conjunction with N.S.P.C.C. as occasion arises.
(5) The Findings of Medical Inspection.
(a) UNCLEANLINESS.
To each of the five areas into which the Borough has been
divided for the purpose of administration as before mentioned, is
attached a Special Duty Nurse, who concentrates on cleanliness
surveys in each school, in rota. The dirty and verminous children
are followed up at their homes until clean. A certain number,
with the parents' consent, are cleansed at the Clinics.
The following figures give a brief resume of the work done, and the findings:—
| Number Examined | Ova | Ova and Pediculi | Body Pediculi | Head find Body | Dirty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pediculi | Sores | |||||
| 59374 | 4463 | 802 | 58 | 6 | 354 | 190 |
The percentages for head and body vermin are respectively 1.36 and .107.
| Number of Home Visits | 3696 |
| Number of Children visited at School | 8596 |
Conditions remedied during the year under Cleanliness scheme:—
| Defective Clothing | 23 |
| Unclean Heads | 1044 |
| Unclean Bodies | 100 |
| Skin Diseases | 35 |
No children were cleansed under Section 122 of the Children
Act, but 176 heads were cleansed at the School Clinics by the
Nurses.
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