[Report 1954] / School Medical Officer of Health, Devon County Council.

  • Devon (England). County Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / School Medical Officer of Health, Devon County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    54/62 (page 52)
    among boys, it seems fashionable for the “ tough guy ” to be a dirty guy. The most common defects found at school medical inspections are allergic manifestations, asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis and urticaria are all common, and poor posture. The mass radiography unit visited Uffculme and the Culm Valley during the spring, longer notice of its coming would have resulted in better preparation and organisa- tion; there need not be this disadvantage when a County has its own Unit. We are now fortunate in having a consultant paediatrician for this area and I, for one, greatly appreciate Dr. Brimblecombe’s kindness and co-operation. A new secondary school has been built at Uffculme and the serious over-crowding at Shillingford and Petton school has been relieved by the building of a new class room. There is no doubt that the new schools do bring about an improvement in children’s health by relieving over-crowding and improving morals. With regard to handicapped children and problem families it seems to me that more and more workers, working under different auspices, are involved in the effort to help and improve the lot of their children and families. It seems important that there should be as much co-operation and exchange of information between the workers as possible and this is most possible if opportunities for meeting are arranged. I am grateful for the ready help of the Health Visitors and the co-operation of the Head Teachers. Dr. L. Solomon {Torquay Area). The number of healthy schoolchildren in Torquay continues to increase from year to year, as shown by the steady annual decrease in the number of defects of Hearing, Vision, Posture, Cleanliness (Verminousness), etc. Many defects are discovered and corrected in pre-school years, because the majority of parents bring their children to the Child Welfare Clinics. The Medical Officer therefore has the opportunity of advising about a child’s health from birth to school leaving age. In the future one may even see an extension of this advisory health service to that other “ vulnerable age group ”—the Old People. School Medical Inspections, etc. The size of my area has been reduced slightly and the school population is now 5,045. During the year it was possible to examine 1,948 children in the “Periodical and Special’’ group, and 1,022 in the “ Re-inspection ’’ group. Part-time employment appears to attract a large proportion of the eligible schoolchildren in this Area. Examinations were requested by 146 schoolchildren in the 13-year age group, to conform with County Byelaws (C. & Y.P. Act, ’33). Of that number 125 were boys, representing about 50% of their age group. Special medical examinations for Superannuation purposes or for prospective candidates for Teachers Training Colleges were carried out on 42 adults.