[Report 1959] / School Medical Officer of Health, Oldham County Borough.
- Oldham (England). County Borough Council. nb2004302054.
- Date:
- 1959
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1959] / School Medical Officer of Health, Oldham County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
8/62 page 7
![The present School Health Service owes its inception to the Education (Administrative Provision) Act, 1907. Under this Act in 1908 the them Medical Officer of Health (Dr. James B. Wilkinson, M.D., C.M., D.P.H.,, F.C.S.) was appointed Superintendent Medical Officer to the Education i Committee. An Assistant School Medical Officer was appointed at a salary of £200 rising by annual increments of £20 to a maximum of £260 and a.i School Nurse was appointed at a salary of £75 rising by increments of £5 to a maximum of £100. In the same year as the Act (1907) a Memorandum i on Medical Inspection (Circular 576) was issued. This laid down not less i than three medical examinations during the school life of a child:— > 1. At or soon after admission to school. 2. At or about the 3rd year of school life (about age 7 years). 3. At-or about the 6th year of school life (about age 10 years) or‘| before the departure of the child into working life. There was an urgent need for these examinations and the routine work andl;] development of the School Health Service has played no small share in the‘i marked physical improvement of the young generation. New problems now'i« face the Service. The early ascertainment and subsequent care and super--r vision of the handicapped child is an increasing responsibility and in thissh. field our service is well to the fore. The behaviour problems and habits ofM( some of our young adolescents demand careful enquiry and investigation n but this can and should only be undertaken by skilled and experiencedIti officers. To remain static is to regress, and we must in due course review.fv the Service and make changes to meet the needs of the new and rapidly?!* changing generation. During the year two faithful and loyal officers left the service of the:,] Authority on their retirement. Dr. Neil Macinnes had served the Committee:i| for many years as Ophthalmic Surgeon but in recent years his duties had;(M been confined to the Refraction Clinic. He was well known to manyriji parents and in some cases must have treated not only the children, butU in their youth the parents themselves. Miss J. E. Woodhead, the Speechuij Therapist, retired at the end of July. Miss Woodhead was one of thesif pioneers in this field and was appointed to these duties in 1933. This iss^ yet another instance of the vision of the Committee in embarking uponnjl a new method of treatment in its very early days. The Committee was for- i tunate to secure such a highly competent and enthusiastic officer who was;'$ devoted to her duties and never spared herself for the children under heriig. care. I also wish to record the very willing and helpful co-operation which’'*! she always gave to myself and my staff. I wish to extend my thanks to all members of my staff for their loyal>l' service during the year. I am also grateful to the Chairman and Members of the Ancillaryvi Services Sub-Committee for their continued support and wish to place oniQ record how very much I appreciate their help and enthusiasm. Finally, ;l my thanks are again due to the Director of Education and his staff andta to the teachers for the help and co-operation which they so willingly., afford to myself and my staff. I am, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, J. T. CHALMERS KEDDIE, Principal School Medical Officerj^](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29937577_0008.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
