[Report 1957] / School Medical Officer of Health, Cheshire County Council.

  • Cheshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1957
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1957] / School Medical Officer of Health, Cheshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    attention was paid to the bottle cleansing arrangements in the dairies concerned. Head teachers of schools throughout the county have been asked to arrange for clinics to be held in schools for vaccination against polio- myelitis, tuberculosis and whooping cough and immunisation against diphtheria. I'heir attitude has been most co-operative and much of the success of these schemes is undoubtedly due to their help and support. The establishment of a County Psychological Service is a pressing need. Whilst the Regional Hospital Boards have set up out-patient psychiatric clinics in many parts of the county, outside mental hospitals but working in close connection with them, and a child psychiatric unit is now operating at Clatterbridge Hospital, they cannot cope with the multitude of psychological disorders amongst children which are not psychoses and these become the responsibility of the School Health Service. Dr. Hugh Craig touches on this in his section of this Annual Report and one cannot escape the conclusion that only when the pro- posed psychological teams have been formed and are working, and not until then, will the problem of the psychological needs of Cheshire school children be met. This is work, not only of great importance to school children and education, but of a high preventive value when pupils leave school and enter adult life. A total of 75 children were reported during the year as requiring examination to determine educability or otherwise. At the subsequent examinations 61 were found to be ineducable and thereupon reported to the County Health Committee, a decision was deferred for subsequent review in seven cases, six were considered able to attend school and home tuition was arranged in one case. In two cases, when a child had previously been reported to the County Health Committee as in- educable, improvement was subsequently noticed and the question of educability re-opened; in both cases the child concerned was then considered to be educable and attended school. It would not be possible to maintain an efficient School Health Service without the willing and effective co-operation of the Director of Education, his administrative staff, the Head Teachers and indeed all members of the teaching staff. Such co-operation has been constantly given and I tender to them all, my grateful thanks. I acknowledge with deep gratitude the continued help and co- operation which I have received throughout the year from the members of the Education Committee, the Clerk of the County Council, the County Treasurer and County Architect and the members of their staffs, and lastly I thank most sincerely the members of my own staff, both professional and lay, without whose unfailing efforts and friendship the work of the Schools Health Service could not be properly done. I beg to remain. Your obedient servant, ARNOLD BROWN, August, 1958. Principal School Medical Officer,