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 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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SCHOOL CLINICS
There are three school clinics in the Borough - they are staffed mainly by School
Nurses and Health Visitor School Nurses.
Balaam Street School Clinic, Open 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
Balaam Street, Plaistow, E.13. Monday to Friday
Rosetta School Clinic, -do-
Sophia Road, Custom House, E.l6.
(Closed during school vacations except for examinations by appointment).
Stratford School Clinic, -do-
84, West Ham Lane, Stratford, E.15.
(Closed during school vacations except for examinations by appointment).
There is a medical officer at Stratford School Clinic and at Rosetta School Clinic
on Monday and Thursday mornings, and at Balaam Street School Clinic on Tuesday and Friday
mornings. One of the main difficulties confronting the school doctor is that in the school,
he frequently has neither sufficient time nor suitable accommodation to examine some children
as thoroughly as he would wish. The school clinic, serving as it does a group of schools,
becomes the centre of school health work in the area and is used for the examination of
many, different kinds of cases. These clinics have always been well used for the treatment
of minor ailments, and in recent years, increasingly for the special examinations.
Minor ailments are treated by the nurses under the direction of the medical officers.
| Conditions Treated | 1257 | 1258 |
|---|---|---|
| Skin Diseases | 808 | 891 |
| External Eye Diseases | 164 | 116 |
| Minor Ear Conditions | 104 | 104 |
| Miscellaneous Conditions | 1,230 | 1,144 |
| Total: | 2,306 | 2,255 |
Children Attending Clinics
| Clinic | New Cases | Total Attendances | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1257 | 1258 | 1257 | 1958 | |
| Stratford | 985 | 900 | 3,547 | 4,532 |
| Balaam Street | 1,144 | 937 | 4,997 | 5,091 |
| Rosetta | 1,292 | 1,265 | 5,728 | 6,047 |
| Total: | 3,421 | 3,102 | 14,272 | 15,670 |
It is, of course, necessary for many of the children to attend on more than one occasion.
These figures confirm the recent trend of a fall in the number of children attending
the school clinics, but an increase in the total number of attendances and in the
volume of work undertaken. The type of case attending the school clinic today requires
more thorough understanding and investigation. This is reflected both in the larger number
of attendances and in the time given to each interview and examination.
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