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60
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
I append a summary of the work of the School Health Service as it affects
the London Borough of Hackney up to the 31st December, 1965. As members will
know, the overall responsibility for the School Health Service lies with the
Inner London Education Authority, and all the staff in that Service, including
myself, as Principal School Medical Officer, my Deputy, various nursing and
other staffs, act in this capacity as agents for the Inner London Education
Authority, although the day to day running of the service is controlled
locally.
The statistical information was obtained from the Inner London Education
Authority and will, of course, ultimately form part of the overall statistics
for the inner London area.
I also include the report of the Chief Dental Officer.
I would take this opportunity to thank the Medical Adviser's Department
of the Inner London Education Authority, and also Mr. Kingdom and his staff at
the local divisional education office for all the help they have given the
department this year.
"The Inner London Education Authority is now responsible for deciding overall
policy for the school health service, while the detailed day-to-day running of
the service is locally administered by each Inner London Borough.
Since the London Borough of Hackney is geographically the same area as the
fo,rmer London County Council Division 4, it has been possible to continue with
most of the administrative procedures and effect a smooth change-over.
The maintenance of a close relationship between I.L.E.A. and the borough
is vital if the primary function of the service is to be achieved, i.e., the
provision of skilled and sympathetic attention to the diverse needs aind general
welfare of each individual school child.
Normally, a child receives four periodic medical examinations during his
school life. Eleven primary schools, however, are taking part in an experimental
scheme for selective medical examination at the age of seven years, in which
only those children whose health has caused concern to parents or school staff
are examined. Under this scheme fewer children are examined but the examinations
take longer and there is little, if any saving of medical and nursing man-hours.
In general, however, it is felt that medical and nursing skill is being used
more profitably by concentrating on the children most in need of medical supervision
or advice.
The scheme is not applicable to all primary schools, however, as it depends
to a large extent on the response of parents to the questionnaire on their
child's health. Other factors include the opportunity of teaching staff to
observe a child over a reasonable period of time. The latter, will, of course,
be affected by the mobility of local families, and the separation of infant
and junior schools.
Staff
Nursing Staff in the School Health Service consists of a mixture of fulltime
and part-time nurses. Their duties include working in ordinary or special
schools, in various clinics and treatment centres or in various combinations
of these. Two nurses have special additional duties in testing the hearing
of school children by audiometry.
Pour school nurses combine the work of a school nurse with that of a health
visitor for the local Borough.
The equivalent of four school nurses staff the sick bay at Hutton Poplars
children's home. In addition to caring for children who are ill, they carry
out treatments, examinations and prophylaxis in the sick bay.