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 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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During the year, 62,525 inspections were made at these cleanliness surveys, and
1,912 instances of infestation found. On the basis of a school population of 29,135,
this gives a proportion of uncleanliness of 6.5% which compares with 6.3% in 1951
calculated in the same way on a school population of 28,178. This number refers to
individual children, because however many times a child is found dirty in the year, it
is only recorded as one case. There are many instances of recurrent infestations in the
same children, and these persistent offenders provide the School Health Service with one
of its most pressing problems.
Uncleanliness apart from infestation is not specifically recorded: its alleviation
can be assisted at a number of schools, by the shower baths with which they are equipped.
FOLLOW-UP. This is a most important function of the school nurses which is essential
if the full value is to be obtained from inspection and treatment. Many children would
weary of carrying out the doctor's recommendations and parents fall to co-operate without
the friendly encouragement and advice of the nurse. This service frequently requires the
nurse to visit the children's homes and this is welcomed as an excellent opportunity of
getting to know really intimately the families for whose welfare they are responsible.
During the year the school nurses paid 5,251 home visits In this way.
TREATMENT
RINGWORM. The number of cases of ringworm of the scalp treated during the year was
three, all in the same family. None of these cases received x-ray treatment.
There is a good deal of evidence to show that ringworm of the scalp is a declining disease. The figures for previous years are given for comparison:-
| Year | Total number treated | Received x-ray treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 24 | 16 |
| 1947 | 15 | 9 |
| 1948 | 7 | 6 |
| 1949 | 2 | 1 |
| 1950 | 4 | 1 |
| 1951 | 5 | 2 |
| 1952 | 3 | - |
The incidence at the present time is 0.01 per cent. It Is interesting to compare this incidence with that of twenty-four to twenty-six years ago.
| Year | Number of cases | School Population | Incidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 117 | 50,279 | 0.23 |
| 1927 | 84 | 49,660 | 0.17 |
| 1928 | 78 | 48,939 | 0.20 |
THE WORK OF THE MINOR AILMENT CLINICS. These clinics have always been well-used and
a large number of children still attend them, referred mainly by the Head Teachers. The
cases are seen by the school doctors on their clinic afternoons, and the bulk of the
treatment is carried out by the school nurses. Although many of the conditions seen may
be regarded as trivial or superficial, their prompt treatment saves a good deal of minor
disability and in some cases prevents a simple lesion becoming a major one. The chief
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