[Report 1964] / School Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council.

  • Essex (England). County Council.
Date:
1964
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1964] / School Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    8/86 (page 6)
    dicative ot an improvement in mouth hygiene practices. In order to complement the valuable work being undertaken in dental health education, tooth brushes are being sold in dental clinics to children at a nominal price but much of the effort which is being employed in this discipline will be of no avail unless the sale of sweets and biscuits in school tuck shops is completely replaced by the sale of cleansing foods. It is gratifying to observe a decrease in the number of children ascertained as partially hearing although the number of children ascertained as requiring special educational treatment because of deafness remained the same as in the previous year. The Nursery Unit for Deaf Children at Rayleigh, although labouring under staffing difficulties, continued to prove the need for such units since, without a period of close and continuous observations, it is well nigh impossible to decide between deafness and partial hearing in the very young. So many other factors enter into the making of the final assessment that observation in a nursery class appears essential for every such child. The incidence of vcrrucae in school children shows no sign of abating and indeed with the growing number of schools that are installing swimming pools it is likely that the incidence will continue to increase. There is little doubt that this situation would be relieved considerably if the Council’s arrangements for chiropody treatment were extended to school children but unfortunately, owing to the apparent paucity of chiropodists, it i.s not always possible to provide the desired service even for the present priority groups. The .situation is, however, being kept under review. One particularly discordant note is the persistent high percentage of school children found to be infested, the percentage for the year under review being slightly higher than for the last ten years. It is difficult to ascertain the reason for this trend when one observes that children, particularly older children, appear to pay more attention to their personal appearance and hygiene nowadays. It is, however, noticeable that the trend coincides with the present fashion of wearing the hair long and this may be a contributing factor. In conclusion, I have pleasure in recording my thanks and appreciation to the Education Committee for their welcome consideration and support through- out the year in relation to matters affecting the health and progress of school children throughout the County. I wish also to express my thanks to the Chief Education Officer and his staff for their continued co-operation and to my own staff and all others who have helped in any way with the School Health Service. I am. Ladies and Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, J. A. C. FRANKLIN Principal School Medical Officer