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Notification of The arrangements mentioned in last year's report
Infectious have been continued throughout the year. Upon
Diseases by
School Teachers the receipt of a notification from the Schoolmaster
regarding the absence of a Scholar, said to
be, or suspected of, suffering from, measles, whooping-cough,
chicken-pox or mumps, the assistant inspector at once proceeds to
the house to make enquiries as to the nature of the illness. In the
event of the illness being of an infectious nature and the patient not
under medical treatment, instructions are given as to proper means
of isolation and precautions to be adopted. Other scholars of the
family are prohibited from attending school, and certificates in
accordance with the Educational Code are forwarded to the Schoolmaster.
Upon receipt of the Inspector's Report, the Medical
Officer of Health also visits the houses and schools when considered
necessary.
The amount of time occupied in investigating these cases far
exceeds that necessitated by notifications of diseases under the
Notification Act, but undoubtedly benefit is being derived, as we
find that as a result of our visits the parents are beginning to realise
that these ailments are of a far more serious nature than they
formerly considered them.
The monetary benefit derived by the schools as a result of the
Certificates of the Medical Officer of Health is considerable.
Of the 221 houses visited on account of one of the abovementioned
ailments, a medical practitioner was in attendance at
125. At the other houses, 96 in number, the Inspector, upon being
informed by the parents that they did not think it necessary to call
in a doctor, left a circular drawn up by the Medical Officer of Health
and pointed out the necessity of isolation and the advisability of
seeking medical aid.
Possibly, owing to want of experience in notification or for
want of realization of the seriousness of neglect, or by suppression
of information by parents, in some instances there was a delay in
notification, with a result that the disease had taken a firm hold
amongst the scholars before rhe matter was brought to the notice of
the Health department. ( ee page 44).
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