[Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Sunderland County Borough.

  • Sunderland (Tyne and Wear, England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Sunderland County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Vaccination was offered to 1,916 girls in this age group and arrangements made for the vaccination to be done either in school or by the family doctors. 1,582 vaccinations were carried out by medical officers of the department and 21 by general practitioners. This represented a total response of 83.6 per cent. Assessment Panel. This panel met each month for the assessment and review of severely handicapped children and 26 children were seen. A con¬ sultant psychiatrist from Prudhoe and Monkton Hospital who has a responsibility for the Sunderland area joined the panel. Further meetings were held weekly between the Consultant Psychiatrist, the Senior Medical officer and mental welfare officers to discuss urgent problems arising in those families with mentally handicapped children. Infestation. Head infestation with lice and nits and infestation of the body by scabies was a major problem. During the year 78,627 examinations of individual children were carried out by school nurses and 4,676 children were found infested to some degree. 1,853 cleansing orders were issued. This is not a specifically local problem, infestation has increased nationally. Lack of awareness of the condition and possible resistance to treatment are contributive factors. In order to help resolve the problem a team of nurses was deployed for intensive inspection and treatment purposes and an additional cleansing station was brought into operation in an area of the town without easy access to such facilities. The success of this approach is shown by the fact that in one heavily infested area the infestation rate was reduced from 17 per cent to 3 per cent. In order to maintain this type of surveillance approval was obtained to increasing the establish¬ ment by three school nurses and one bathing attendant. Medical Inspection. All school children are routinely medically examined on entry to and prior to leaving school and screening tests of eyesight and hearing are carried out regularly. Where further investigation or treatment is advised this is done in consul¬ tation with the family doctor.