[Report 1962] / School Medical Officer of Health, Kent County Council.

  • Kent (England). County Council. n 50045898.
Date:
1962
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1962] / School Medical Officer of Health, Kent County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    3/32 (page 3)
    Health Department, County Hall, Maidstone. 5th July, 1963. To the Members of the Education Committee During the year, 118,579 school children received a routine medical examination and 98.9% of them were found to be in a satisfactory physical condition. This finding indicates the high material level of living standards in the community and is an indication of the good standard of care and attention given by the great majority of parents to the welfare of their families. Over the years the functions of the School Health Service have changed to meet changing social conditions and increasing attention is being given to the requirements of children presenting special needs. It is for this reason that the report gives details of the services for various classes of handicapped children. During the year further attention was given to the need for publicising the effect of smoking, particularly of cigarettes, on health. In consultation with the Advisory Committee of Head Teachers, methods were devised to bring to the attention of children and their parents the overwhelming evidence of the link between smoking of cigarettes and the occurrence of lung cancer. A leaflet was prepared for issue to the parents of all children attending secondary schools in the County since it is clear that without the co-operation of parents, the efforts of teachers and members of the School Health Service cannot be effective. The great majority of the activities of the School Dental Service must be devoted to the treatment of established dental disease and it must be a matter for concern that there is such a high occurrence of dental caries in young children. During the year the Ministry of Health published Memorandum No. 105 entitled “The Conduct of the Fluoridation Studies in the United Kingdom and the Results Achieved after Five Years”. The addition of fluoride to water supplies naturally deficient in this substance is something that has now received full support and backing from the World Health Organisation, the Ministry of Health, the British Medical Association, the British Dental Association and the County Councils Association as a safe and effective public health measure that will be of material help and assistance in preventing dental ill-health in generations of children yet unborn. However, until fluoridation of water supplies is widely adopted in the United Kingdom, reliance must be placed upon a slow expansion of the existing dental services and on the greatest possible use of health education in dental hygiene. During the year the first appointments were made of dental auxiliaries—the first to be recruited and who are members of a new group of staff in the health and welfare services. These auxiliaries have received special training in health education and those working in Kent show a real understanding and interest in this field. I would wish to place on record my thanks to the staff for their services during the year and say again how much the effective functioning of the School Health Service derives from the harmonious association that exists with other members of the staff of the Council, particularly the teaching profession. A. ELLIOTT, Principal School Medical Officer. !