[Report 1936] / School Medical Officer of Health, Norfolk County Council.

  • Norfolk (England). County Council.
Date:
1936
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1936] / School Medical Officer of Health, Norfolk County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/50 (page 17)
    The number of closures for the annual epidemic of influenza, coughs, and colds, was much less than last year when 148 closures took place. These complaints are highly infectious when children are confined together in school, and the best way of dealing with an epidemic is to close the school for a short period, one week being usually sufficient. Closures for measles were five times those of 1935 and outbreaks continued throughout the whole year. Exclusions. 12,842 children were temporarily excluded or re-excluded under Article 53 (B) on account of the undermentioned infectious diseases :— Chicken Pox ... 1352 Coughs and Colds 4232 Diphtheria 91 Influenza 275 Measles—German 577 Do. English . 3554 Mumps 1053 Scarlet Fever 493 Sore Throats 132 Tuberculosis 11 Whooping Cough 1072 54 complete classes were also excluded under this Article during the year. Rule 23 of Schedule IV of the Code—Paragraph 2. 386 Certificates in respect of 95 departments were issued by the School Medical Officer in cases where the attendance of a school fell below 60 per cent., and was reasonably attributable to the prevalence of epidemic disease in the district. The diseases responsible were :— Chicken Pox .. 16 Scarlet Fever ... 16 Coughs, Colds, etc. ... 80 Whooping Cough 71 Diphtheria 8 Mumps 5 Influenza 3 Mixed Infections 19 Measles 165 Conjunctivitis o D OPEN=AIR EDUCATION. There are no op en-air schools under the control of the Authority , b during favourable weather many teachers take advantage of the opportunity of holding classes out-of-doors. In July, children from Sprowston School camped at Trimingham for a week in charge of members of the teaching ■staff (see paragraph in report of Organiser of Physical Education). ORTHOPAEDIC TREATMENT. No outstanding alterations have occurred in the administration of this Scheme. It is recognised that improvements could be made and these are receiving attention as opportunity permits. The problem of the crippled child is well in hand and treatment is available for all orthopaedic defects likely to benefit by such treatment. The large number of cases awaiting admission to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, to which attention has been drawn in previous Reports, was reduced during the year from 28 to 10, and there is every indication that this latter figure will be brought still lower. Cases dating back to 1934 have been dealt with, arrangements having been made for the Ortho¬ paedic Surgeon to take in more of our patients, especially boys. Whilst beds for girls have generally been available within a reasonable period of their names being placed on the waiting list, vacancies for boys were rather in¬ frequent, but this difficulty has now been remedied.