[Report 1903] / Medical Officer of Health, Esher & The Dittons U.D.C.

  • Esher and the Dittons (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1903] / Medical Officer of Health, Esher & The Dittons U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    though there was no evidence of any throat disease among the children; I found that the lavatories were not kept in as cleanly condition as they should be. It has been the custom in the Parishes of Thames Ditton, Long Litton and Claygate, to have a medical officer appointed who made periodical visits of inspection to the schools, and also advised the Managers on any points regarding the health of the children or such subjects as the warming and ventilation of the rooms. In my visits to the various schools the Head Teachers have frequently told me they found great assistance was obtained by being* able to get advice from the medical man who was acting as adviser to the Managers, and I hope that before long it will be. possible to make arrangements to have these advisers re-appointed. I feel convinced that had there been a school medical officer at Claygate, I should not have had to find fault with the way these lavatories were kept. I have arranged for the Sanitary Inspector to make an inspection of all elementary schools in the Dis- trict at least once a quarter. One of the two cases of Enteric Fever was undoubt- edly imported into the District, most probably from America. The other case was in the Claygate Ward, and was one of those curious cases in which the blood gave the typhoid re-action, and almost as soon as the diagnosis was made, immediately got well, thus proving there are con- ditions under which this re-action may be found but which are not due to Typhoid Fever. Most of the cases of Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria were removed to hospital, though it was necessary to send some of them into a neighbouring district as there was not sufficient accommodation in the hospital at Totworth. Under these circumstances great care had to be taken in the removal of cases of Diphtheria lest death from heart failure should take place on the road, and it is a matter for congratulation that only one patient was at all the worse for the journey.