HEALTH IN THE SCHOOL

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1024, 13 January 1911, Page 10

HEALTH IN THE SCHOOL

MEDICAL INSPECTION IN ENGLAND. SOME STRIKING RETURNS. Tho annual report of Dr. George Newman, the chief medical officer of tho English Board of Education, covering tho year 1908,: shows .that-.tho education authorities of England and Wales are, as a whole,:carrying out the provisions of tho Act'of 1907' in.regard to the medical inspection-of children. Out of 327 local-education authorities, 314 had had their schemes of inspection and school medical'.officers recognised by the Board of Education. The remaining thirteen authorities have schemes of inspection in operation, but not yet recognised. .The number of .medical officers at work in the school medical service in 1909 was as follows:—' Doctors. 314 recognised schemes ......... 847 13 non-recognised schemes ... 139. Total .'........'......'„.. 986 Of this total 73 are women doctors, employed by SO authorities. In six districts ladies arc occupying tho post of chief school medical officer, namely, Aston Manor, Bromley, Islo of Elv, Enfield, Hartley, and Ilkeston. School nurses to,the number of 239 are employed,.. 160 of them in - wholetime service. The -. .children . who < come.' under the provisions-of-the Act. of-1907'are "entrants" and;"leavers," and the number toy bo medically examined-is 'approximately as follows:— ■ '' i . • ' Children. England ;.'............. 1,287,000 . Wales. ,110.000, ' Total,':- ..,,........'....'...,1,397,000. It may bo stated generally, the report says, in respect to the six'million children attending, tho schools' of England arid Wales, that the percentage of fects discovered by medical inspection is as follows: — ..'■•■ '' . '■'. ','• ■'• ' Per Cent. - Defective hearing g to 5 ■ Defective vision 10 Adenoids . 8 Decay of teeth ...;..;........ 20 to 40 Unclean heads -.;..." , 40 Heart diseaso j to 2Instances will illustrate the scope of the work done. Take, for instance, the result.of medical inspection'in respect to tuberculosis as compiled from tho returns of certain districts :— Children Tuber- Per , ■ Areas - Exam'd. culous. Cent. Entrants and "Leavers" 64. ,'522,000 3922 0.75 Do', and Specials 21 , 127,741 ' 1531 ; l'*2 Specials .10 33,9.71. GB7 2.02 Tho specials aro those. selected by school medical officers,.-nurses, or teachers as ailing.' In the Code year 1909-10 thirty-seven education authorities received sanction for providing spectacles to children free of charge. Tho total estimated expenditure was about £500, tho average cost of the spectacles being from 2s. to 3s. 6d. per pair. , Teeth inspection, is a feature of the .w0rk..... Tho extont.to which defective ; teeth .prevails may be gathered from the result of the dental inspection in Birmingham, the rcfercuco being to permanent tooth ■ ' Children examined 1524 Total carious teeth . 7,3740 Saveablo teeth .:.......: 2348 Unsaveable teeth ........-...'.;.. 1392 School clinics were sanctioned in ,1909-10 in Abertillery, Bradford, Brighton, Cambridge (dental only), Kettering, London County, Norwich, Oldham;: Worthing, and York. Several other proposals aro under consideration. Dr. Newman, in concluding his report, says: "To tho lasting credit-and honour of the large body of voluntary workers who'servo as members of 'ocal .education authorities, and of the officers who work under them, and of tho ratepayers who support them, it can ivw be said that, in spito of all the difficulties, limitations, and adverse conditions, a national system of medical inspection, and supervision of sohool children has now been established throughout .England: and wales. ... It is not extravagant to say that great things havo been accomplished in the three years sinco tho passing of the Act initiating statutory medical inspection."