[Report 1947] / School Medical Officer of Health, Lanark County Council.

  • Lanarkshire (Scotland). County Council
Date:
1947
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1947] / School Medical Officer of Health, Lanark County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    though usually made by request of the Attendance Department, are quite frequently asked for by the parents themselves. Visiting of homes for examination of pre-school children, at their parents’ request, has also been carried out. 5. THE FINDINGS OF MEDICAL INSPECTION. The total number of children examined systematically during the past year was 26,768. This includes children examined according to the four specified age groups and, in addition, children who had been missed at previous systematic examinations due to illness, absence, or other causes. These latter numbered 1,395 and are included in the totals of Tables 2 and 3 at the end of this Report. In addition, inspection and supervision of pupils getting further education, pre-apprenticeship classes, etc., was carried out at one centre in the educational area. This was the only one in operation during the past year, but it is anticipated that a con¬ siderably larger number of pupils will be involved in other centres which will be functioning during the incoming year. Children of seven years of age were examined for vision and hearing only. They totalled 8,445 and the findings will be found in later pages of this Report. They are shown separately. The number of children notified to their parents as suffering from defects was 4,339, a percentage of 16-2. Cases which are suitable for treatment at the Minor Ailments Clinics are given an oppor¬ tunity to attend there and, in those cases who are notified for verminous conditions, attendance is insisted upon if the parents’ efforts at cleansing are not satisfactory. It is satisfactory to record, however, that in the matter of notification to parents about defective conditions found at examinations of school children, in a large number of instances, due attention is paid to the recom¬ mendations to seek medical advice and treatment. The number doing so increases year by year. The ascertainment, supervision and treatment of dirty and ver¬ minous conditions occupies a considerable part of the School Nurses’ time. All of the cases are notified to the parents and followed up by subsequent examinations. If the parents have cleansed the children, supervision is continued. If no cleansing or insufficient cleansing has been done, warning notices are sent to the parents requiring the attendance of the children at clinics for proper treatment. This is also followed up, in many cases, • by home visits. At the clinics, cleansing is carried out by the
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