[Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, Exeter City & County.

  • Exeter (England). City & County Council.
Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, Exeter City & County. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Ward—and one school nurse—Miss Edds—attended refresher courses. I attach great importance to these courses, not only on account of the up-to-date teaching given, but also on account of the opportunity for comparing notes with colleagues and discussing problems of common interest. Cinematograph films dealing with the care of the teeth, the eyes and the ears, were shown to senior scholars and parents’ associations. On each occasion a medical officer or school nurse attended to introduce the pictures and answer questions. Judging by my own experience, these films were much appreciated and various points made by the producers were quickly taken in. In addition to steady development along the lines laid down by the Act, the Department is able to produce a good record of work done in spite of difficulties. In a total school population of 7,625, including the secondary grammar schools, 3,206 examinations at routine ages and 4,415 other examinations were carried out. School Clinic attendances were as follows :— 1944. 1945. 1946. Central Clinic 5,130 3,942 5,636 Western Clinic 3,992 2,273 2,528 Eastern Clinic 5,109 4,229 3,799 Dental Clinic 5,141 4,716 4,427 A branch clinic, including a dental surgery, is required in the Northern health district of the City. As soon as building becomes possible, the erection of such a clinic in co-operation with the other Committees of the Council dealing with health matters, should be considered. The number of individual children found to be unclean was 1,231, giving a percentage of 19.1, which is slightly low^er than the previous year. Much of the trouble is due to a small number of difficult and careless families. The standard is strict : one nit is recorded as an unclean head. The number of girls over school age at hospitals and in industry, as well as among recruits for the Forces, found to have dirty heads is an indication of the prevalence of infestation. It is surprising that girls of sixteen and over should not take the trouble to keep themselves clean. Such families provide a constant source of infection and tend to render in- effectual the work of the school nurses. Section 54 of the Act of 1944 practically repeats the procedure under the 1921 Act, a procedure which experience proved to be cumbersome and use- less. This is very disappointing. In contrast, it may be observed that infestation among the children in the Day Nurseries, at present conducted by the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee, is comparatively uncommon. This is partly due to the closer supervision possible, partly to the fact that the younger children in the home get more attention, and to the knowledge among parents that repeated carelessness in this direction and disregard of advice may cause the privilege of using the Nursery to be forfeited. Scabies, which reached its maximum prevalence during the war years, has again declined. The following table shows the