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The school nurse has many other functions to perform. By regular visiting of her area
she can often detect abnormal environmental conditions long before they have resulted in
departure from health which might otherwise be detected only at periodic medical inspections.
The mental health of the child is receiving particular attention in the School Health
Service and both the school doctor and the school nurse can often detect psychological
aberrations in their earliest stages. There is a great future for this kind of work in the
Education and School Health Services.
Handicapped Children.
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In dealing with handicapped children the service now shows a greater pre-occupation with
ensuring that handicap does not prevent the child from receiving an education appropriate to
his age, ability and aptitude. The early ascertainment of handicapped pupils is one of the
most important functions of the School Health Service. The education authority is responsible
for the ascertainment of all handicapped pupils over the age of two years who require special
educational treatment. The principle of special educational treatment for certain children
constituted a major advance. Later it will be shown what is done for the ten categories of
handicapped pupils.
The effect of the National Health Service Act, 1946, on the School Health Service.
Not withstanding the National Health Service Act, 1946, the School Health Service is
established more firmly than ever. The reason for this Is that the School Health Service, as
its name implies, is much more than a medical service, and is very closely linked up with the
educational life of the child. The first effects of the National Health Service were, however,
unfortunate because the demands of other sections of the community for free treatment caused
a curtailment of certain facilities for schoolchildren. Difficulties in the supply of glasses
have been overcome and there has been an improvement in the supply of school dental officers,
which is referred to in the report of the Senior Dental Officer. The Chief Medical Officer of
the Ministry of Education in his Report for the years 1954 and 1955 mentioned the attainment
by the School Dental Service for the first time of a total equivalent of over 1,000 whole-time
officers and referred to it as a "milestone in its history".
Continuous consultation and co-operation between the authority and the various bodies
administering the National Health Service is required to ensure that the scheme for the
treatment of schoolchildren is comprehensive and efficient. Consultants of the Regional
Hospital Board are employed for part of their time in the local authority premises which
ensures easy referral by medical officers to them of cases about whom they are concerned. The
school medical officers refer large numbers of children requiring specialist attention to
these consultants, subject, except in certain agreed conditions, to the general practitioners;
agreement. Copies of the reports are sent to the practitioners; likewise, a number of hospitals
send to the school medical officer copies of reports to the general practitioner on children who
have been In-patients.
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