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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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that the personal factor of the oculist is partly responsible. No
definite conclusions can be drawn from these figures without the
application of more advanced methods.
(i) Minor eye diseases. Although there was no marked
change in the actual incidence of these conditions, as found at
routine and special inspections, there was a welcome reduction of
the number of children who required treatment at the clinics. So
far as secondary school pupils were concerned, 9 required treatment
at the clinics, and 5 were treated otherwise.
(ii) Defective vision and squint. Reference has already
Table XV.
Incidence of Eye Conditions per 1 ,000 School Population.
| Year. | Minor defects. | Defective vision (excluding squint). | Squint. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 30.3 | 35.5 | 7.5 |
| 1927 | 28.0 | 37.2 | 9.2 |
| 1928 | 25.1 | 43.3 | 8.6 |
| 1929 | 25.8 | 35.9 | 7.3 |
| 1930 | 26.5 | 46.9 | 7.8 |
| 1931 | 18.8 | 51.9 | 7.8 |
| 1932 | 28.2 | 61.0 | 10.5 |
| 1933 | 31.6 | 49.9 | 8.4 |
| 1934 | 29.8 | 41.4 | 7.5 |
| 1935 | 29.5 | 33.0 | 7.6 |
| 1936 | 31.1 | 30.8 | 6.7 |
| 1937 | 28.7 | 38.1 | 12.0 |
been made to the incidence of this condition in the population of
the elementary schools. In secondary schools the number of
children who were found to require treatment was 358, of whom
29 had their vision assessed as defective as a result of a special
inspection. The number of children in these schools who were
found to require observation but not treatment was 19. The
incidence of squint in secondary school children was very low, only
eleven cases of this type having been observed. This was probably
due to the fact that children suffering from squint had had the
defect corrected before they entered the scondary school.
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