SCHOOL CHILDREN’S HEALTH.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 29, 4 February 1914, Page 4

SCHOOL CHILDREN’S HEALTH.

Tho annual report of 1912, of the Chief Medical Officer of tho British Board of Education, which was issued on December 16th, contains an exhaustive account of the measures which are heng taken throughout the country to safeguard the health of school chldren. During the year which ended on July 31 last the schemes of medical inspection were approved by the Board and the school medical officers recognised in 303 out of the 317 local education areas, and in the remaining 14 area's medical inspection was also in operation. Altogether there were 1,111 medical officers in the school service in England and Wales, as compared with 943 in 1911 ; 82 were women and there were 742 nurses also engaged. The report states that, sneaking generally, it may be said that out of tho six million children registered on the books of the Public Elementary Schools of England and Wales about 10 per cent, suffer from serious defect of vision, from 1 to 3 per cent, suffer from defective hearing, 1 to 3 per cent have suppurating ears, about 10 per cent have adenoids, inflamed tonsils, or enlarged cervical glands, requiring surgical treatment, about 1 per cent have ringworm, 1 per cent suffer from tuberculosis of readily recognisable form, from 1 to 2 per cent are effected with heart disease, from 30 to 40 per cent have unclean heads and bodies, and probably more than half the children are in need of dental treatment.