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
Merton 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton]
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Detailed medical examinations were conducted and a report on
each child submitted to the Department of Education and Science.
Some delay was experienced as parents often required a second
appointment before attending.
The opportunity was taken at the same time to obtain information
about epileptic and diabetic children in ordinary schools although
neither condition was necessarily regarded as a handicap. It was
ascertained from the details given by the schools that there were 48
epileptic and 24 diabetic children attending at the time.
The following table gives details of the numbers of children who were found to have physical handicaps:—
| Handicapped Children Attending Ordinary Schools Classification of Defects | |
|---|---|
| Perthe's Disease | 2 |
| Cerebral Palsy (various defects) | 11 |
| Cardiac conditions | 8 |
| Phenylketonuria | 1 |
| Thalassaemia | 1 |
| Post Polio defects | 2 |
| Cystic Fibrosis | 2 |
| Congenital Malformations | 11 |
| Spina Bifida | 2 |
| Post accident defects (amputation) | 1 |
| Others (Rh. fever; dislocations; post-encephalitic conditions; etc.) | 9 |
| Epileptics | 48 |
| Diabetics | 24 |
| Total | 122 |