London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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West Ham 1937

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]

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the efficiency of routine examination in West Ham have not served
to alter my opinion that some modification of the present system
might give better results.
VI. THE FINDINGS OF MEDICAL INSPECTION AND
RESULTS OF TREATMENT.
The following sections deal with groups of diseases, and
for convenience the arrangements for treatment and its results
are discussed under each condition.
General Discussion of the Findings on Inspection.
Of the 14,340 elementary school children who had routine
inspections in schools, 2,605, or 18.1 percent. were found to
require treatment (excluding uncleanliness, malnutrition, and
dental disease). The percentages of children in the three prescribed
age groups who required treatment are given in Table VII.

Table VII.

Percentage of children examined who required treatment.

Age groups.West Ham.England & Wales, 1936.London, 1936.
Entrants17.2116.114.8
Intermediates21.7418.516.6
Leavers20.9416.916.3

It will be seen from this table that at all ages inspected the
proportion of West Ham school children who required treatment
was slightly greater than the corresponding proportions for
London children and for children in England and Wales as a
whole. This slight excess is no doubt due, at least in part, to the
industrial character of the district.
Certain defects will now be considered in detail.
(a) Nutrition. The popular conception of nutrition is connected
mainly with the height, weight, and general "build" of the
individual. Within recent years it has come to be recognised that
the detection of malnutrition is a very complex problem, and it
seems desirable therefore to discuss this question from two distinct
angles.
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