[Report 1970] / School Medical Officer of Health, Nottingham City.

  • Nottingham (England). City Council.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1970] / School Medical Officer of Health, Nottingham City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 On School Rolls 51,274 52,311 53,245 53,794 54,397 Examinations 131,479 107,552 108,481 101,487 95,031 Number found unclean 3,633 3,542 3,859 4,765 5,664 Percentage of the number on rolls 7-1 6-8 7-2 8-8 10-4 Statutory notices to parents 25 44 34 20 31 Children cleansed 17 34 26 16 30 The increase in the number of children with pediculosis capis is one of our current problems. The possibility of resistant strains of para¬ sites is one possibility currently being investigated, but there are many other aspects to the problem. Miss Holmes, Superintendent School Nurse, comments as follows:- Head infestation continues to be a cause for concern. The increased numbers of children infested is in spite of the time, effort and consideration which has been given to this problem. A contributory factor to the increase in numbers may be the re¬ housing of families, known to be persistent offenders, from slum clearance areas. Schools which have previously been free from head infestation are now expressing concern about it. The position is under constant review with regard to new applica¬ tions for the prevention and treatment of pediculosis and also methods of providing the most efficient service to schools in order to deal with their particular problem. Our team of six nurses’ assistants, whose responsibility it is to carry out the examinations in schools, are valuable members of the staff and I would like to express our sincere gratitude for their constant endeavour to eradicate this problem of infestation. INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The figures for infectious diseases are as follows:- 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 Chicken Pox 1,244 1,636 2,226 889 1,499 835 Measles 1,360 1,074 1,601 713 289 1,428 German Measles 190 265 915 1,257 601 559 Mumps 815 1,810 451 618 1,740 704 Scarlet Fever 255 222 253 127 113 97 Whooping Cough .. 106 169 130 135 58 174 Jaundice - — 150 12 69 86 Glandular Fever — — — — 13 20 Hookworm — — 33 24 13 23 Whipworm - - 23 13 7 10 Ringworm - - - 7 2 5 These diseases affect the whole community rather than school children only. I am grateful to Dr. Ducksbury, who deals with epidemical problems under the Medical Officer of Health’s directions, for the happy co-operation we have experienced throughout the year. DRUG ADDICTION: This is another problem about which a great deal is heard at present. Actual addiction in school children in Nottingham is in fact negligible. MASS MINIATURE RADIOGRAPHY SERVICE: Dr. W. H. Roderick Smith, Nottingham and District Chest Centre, reports as follows :-