DOCTORS IN SCHOOL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1577, 22 October 1912, Page 5

DOCTORS IN SCHOOL.

. ; A ROUND OF INSPECTION, YOUTHFUL AILMENTS. AN INTEKKHTJN'p WOIUC. Dr. Elizabeth Gunn, the School Medical . Inspector for tho .Middle University DisIrict, of which tho Thorndon Training .- College is the school centre, has now. completed her first inspections of the Traininp; College nnd Normal .School. Yvrtoi'day she commenced her inspection of the Clydo Quay School, nnd will probably • ho there for the remainder of the week. Generally h-praking, the inspections ,have - been conducted with a iniiiimmn of trie-'■ tioii, only a few instances being recorded of parental objrelions to the scheme. Tho . e.vwom is not rjuito ready, in an official sense, that is. as regulations vesting, th? necessary authority for thp adminislra, ; tion of tho scheme are not yet gazetted- ' Duties of the Inspectors. Ponding tlio publication of a definite sel of regulations under which tho system is to bo carried out, Uio duties of tho health inspectors have been outlined in a general way. ' Tho idea is to uso the Train- . ing College, nnd its students as a. .medium for tho dissemination of principles and methods when tho trained teachers eo forth to vnrious districts to take up the practice of their profession after leaving the college. To the.Training College students lectures on school hygiene generally were to bo given, with instructions : to bo followed with regard lo the filling" in of the personal nnd special cards < on which are recorded the results, of the in- ,; dividual inspections. All tho children in "'■■ (ho Normal School wore to bo medically inspected, the inspections being attended by four or live 'students of (he second yenr, the latter being also instructed in. the noting of nich physical defects ns n teacher might reasonably bo expected to observe in his daily work, and taken on a tour of criticism of (ho school buildings, lighting , arrangements, furniture, heating, etc. The second year students were nlsc to bo inspected as required by tho r'egu. lations for teachers' certificates. '. ~',. , ; Tn addition schools within easy access of tho Trainitig College were to lie visited, and lectures and clinical demonstfatious (riven to the assembled (eachers, and tho buildings inspected from the hygienic point of view. A course of lectures was also provided for country tencliers,on Saturdays. Reports to be Prepared, Due notice, of. course, is to bo g iven of the dates of those inspection visits, fo tho secretary of the Education Board, and tho Principal of the Training College, arrangements with the individual prim- - . nry schools being in 'the hands of the ) .board's secretary and chief inspector. tfol- ' ' lowing upon the inspection of the Train. niR College and adjacent schools, a sen- ■ eral report is furnished to the Chief Health Officer, nnd a copy of the saino supplied to tho • Inspector-General of schools. Tho medical inspector will then: proceed to other centres in accordance with arrangements made conjointly with the Education Department and (lie Public Health Department, nnd carry out similar inspections with lectures' and ■ •*. clinical demonstration's to teachers. Schools below Grnde IV will not be in- - spected except at the request of the Education Bocjd and with the consent of the tiro dcparlments already mentioned, nil- ''_~ less urgent reasons aro shown. The medical inspectors will also report to (ho District Health Officers any case respect- •■' nig which a card notifying nn infectious disease is received, or any ease where inSanitary conditions likely to affect the■', public health is noted. All cards are to

remain in possession of the head teacher of the school concerned except when- required to bo forwarded to the secretary of the Education Board for transmission, to tho Education Board.

An Interesting Investigation. Judging from tho inspections that have already been made, tho investigation ■ should provido interesting data for the future guidance of the education ■ and public health authorities. The lectures s to teachers deal with the value and scope ~of school medical inspections, .and include instructive demonstrations ns to tlie recording of height, weight, nnd chest measurements, sight, and hearing. In the inspection of the children tho points to be noted include diseases of the eve common to school children—external diseases, and refractive errors; defects of breathing, car, nose, and throat troubles common to school- children, with refer-, enco to teeth; nnd such general diseases its phthisis, rickets, malnutrition, rheumatism, anaemia, chorea, skin ailments, nervous troubles, physical deformation, ' and infectious diseases. At the Training College. Tho procedure followed is systematic and thorough. Tho children are stripped . to the waist, carefully sounded, and examined. Cards are filled in, whereon aro *' set forth, the result of tho examination— weight, chest measurement, • height, infantile troubles, health of the parents, sight, hearing, lungs, throat, and teeth. Discussing the result of Dr. Gnnii's in- ■ spection of the Normal School, tho principal of tho Training College (Mr. J. S. ■ Tennant) remarked to a representative of 'I'liu Dominion that the cases of.throat ', trouble vote far more numerous than ensos of bad tooth. ■ At least 7 out of • every 10 were affected in a greater or lesser degree by imperfect l breathing, caused principally by adenoid growths and enlargements of tonsils.- Thirty per cent, of thoso examined, or about 150 of tho total number, were fonnd to bo; suffering seriously enough in one way- or another to', warrant special notice being sent (o their parculs. Cases of defective hearing and eyo sight were few, very few, suid Mr. Tennant. There were also one or two cases of tubercle (rouble, which, considered the* medical inspector, should bo removed from tho school, but there did not. seem to bo any authority at present to order the removal of these. Practically the wholo of tho Normal School was examined, except the boys over twelve years of iige.

"Tho idea is a splendid one if followed up," said Mr. Tennant. "There ought to be somo way by which parents should bo required to give practical heed to the suggestions of the medical inspector." Mr. Tennant added that lie had been very greatly impressed with the valuable work that was being done with the open-air schools in London. "I saw one of-these schools at- work'just outside of London, in November, with only a canvas 'covering overhead to protect them." There if a certain percentage of children, who ought never to be inside school, at all, it they are to escape (he ultimate.effects oi the perils that threaten their constitU' tions, predisposed as they aro to disease." Mr, Tennant and his stuff are now classifying the cards. Dr. Gunn will next: visit H.iwkos Bay and Wnnffsimii, and if time permits, tho Nelson district as well. Next year sho will probably go to Auckland, and one of the male inspectors will come down to Wellington.

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■ The Boy: "What does arbitration mcimP" The Teacher: "It moans that when two Powers of equal strength. e«t hold of a smaller country they ajrrce to divide it equally."