[Report 1937] / School Medical Officer of Health, West Sussex County Council.

  • West Sussex (England). County Council.
Date:
1937
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1937] / School Medical Officer of Health, West Sussex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    • From Table II.B it will be found that the nutrition of 30.31 per cent, of the children examined was slightly subnormal, and 2.92 per cent, bad, as against 24.73 per cent, and 0.67 per cent, in 1936. In Table II. A., appended, will be found a list of the defects discovered at Medical Inspection. There was an increase in the number of children observed to have enlarged tonsils (now referred to as chronic tonsillitis in the Tables) and adenoids, and also a slight increase in the number of children recommended for operative treatment com¬ pared to the previous year. There was a slight decrease in the number of children recommended for treatment for defective vision, squint, etc., as compared with last year. 6. —INFECTIOUS DISEASE.—The Head Teachers report to the School Medical Officer and to the District Medical Officers of Health all children absent from School when an infectious disease is suspected to be the cause, as also contacts. Children are allowed to return to School after the disinfection of the home has been completed by the Local Sanitary Authorities, or at appropriate intervals after recovering from Measles, Whooping Cough, etc. During the year, Schools were closed on 14 occasions, as compared with 10 in 1936 and 11 in 1935, on account of infectious disease, as follows :— Influenza, associated with Epidemic Coids, Chicken Pox or Whooping Cough, 9 ; Influenza, 3 ; Diph¬ theria, 1 ; Epidemic Colds, 1. The average period of closure was 0.97 weeks. After any outbreak of infectious disease, directions are given for the thorough cleansing of the School premises with soap and water, containing a little disinfectant. The fumigation of buildings as formerly practised has been discontinued for many years. After outbreaks of Scarlet Fever or Diphtheria, pens, pencils, rulers and rubbers, if not destroyed, are treated with disinfectant. Certificates where the average attendance had fallen below 60 per cent., due to the prevalence of epidemic illness, were issued in 53 instances, under the following circumstances :—Influenza, associated with Epidemic Colds, Chicken Pox or Whooping Cough, 24 ; Influenza, 9 ; Whooping Cough, 5; Whooping Cough, associated with Epidemic Colds or Mumps, 4 ; Chicken Pox, 3 ; Epidemic Colds, 3 ; Chicken Pox, associated with Measles or Scarlet Fever, 2 ; Mumps, 1 ; Mumps, associated with Epidemic Colds, 1 ; Scarlet Fever, 1. The average period in which attendance was reduced below 60 per cent, was 1.79 weeks, as compared with 2.64 weeks in 1936. 7. —DIPHTHERIA IMMUNISATION.—As mentioned in my previous report, in the latter half of 1936 a start was made with this work, organised by Dr. Templeton with the help of the Medical Officers of Health of the Sanitary Districts and of Medical Officers in attendance at the Maternity and Child Welfare Centres.