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TONSILLECTOMY FIGURES
The Ministry of Education state that there is evidence of considerable underreporting
by hospitals to local education authorities of children who have had tonsillectomy
As there was need for more accurate information, all principal school medical officers in
England and Wales were asked in September, 1955, to arrange for their medical officers,
throughout 1956, during their examination of children at periodic medical inspections, to
note on the school medical record cards which children had already undergone tonsillectomy.
About a third of the total school population is examined at periodic medical inspections
each year so, by the end of 1956, for each county and county borough, the percentage of
boys and girls in the age groups examined who have had the operation would be known. It
would then be possible to make a better comparison between the tonsillectomy rates for
different areas and to investigate the reason for the high rates. The Medical Research
Council's Committee for Research on Social and Environmental Health has the subject under
review.