[Report 1948] / School Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council.

  • Essex County Council
Date:
1948
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1948] / School Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    3/42
    PREFACE To the Chairman and Members of the Essex Edxication Committee. In accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Educatioii, I have the lionour to submit to you my last Annual Report (being the 40th in the series) on the School Health Service for the year ended 31st December, 1948, for the Administrative County of Essex. The principal event of the year was the implementation of the National Health Service Act, 1946, which came into force on the 5th July, 1948, and under which the responsibility for hospital and specialist treatment of school children is trans- ferred from the Education Committee to the Regional Hospital Boards. In Circular 179, dated 4th August, 1948, the Minister of Education requested the observations of the Committee on the effects of the Act on the School Health Service, and this has received, and still is receiving, special consideration by the Committee in consultation with the Regional Hosjiital Boards. Many adminis- trative problems have been experienced in this connection. From the 5th July, 1948, the provision of spectacles became the responsibility of the Executive Councils through the Supplementary Ophthalmic Services, but it was provided in the Regulations that School Eye Clinics should continue as previously, thus enabling school children to be given a certain amount of priority as compared with members of the general public. The intention is that the responsibility for the Supplementary Ophthalmic Services will in due course be transferred from the Executive Councils to the Regional Hospital Boards. Up to the present, the Education Committee has continued to pay the salaries of the Ophthalmic Specialists, receiving in return a capitation fee from the Executive Council. It is hoped that the Regional Hospital Boards will take over this work in the near future. Considerable delay has been experienced in the supply of spectacles since the 5th July, 1948, due to the inrush of applications generally for spectacles under the Act. Dental treatment of school children continues to be the responsibility of the Education Committee, but in common with the rest of the country there is serious depletion of staff due to resignations and difficulty in obtaining new ajjplicants owing to the. fact that Dental Surgeons are attracted by the higher remuneration under the National Health Service. This is receiving the serious consideration of the Committee and it is hoped that a National Scale of Salaries will shortly be introduced, with a view to stemming the otherwise inevitable disappearance of the School Dental Service. The Child Guidance Service has devoloi^ed during the year, although there has been some difficulty in ol)taining the services of Child Psychiatrists. It is hoped that there will be further facilities availalile, cs])ecially for the more rural parts of the County, as soon as arrangements with the Hos])ital Boards can be settled. Other services awaiting expansion for the same reason, are Speech Therapy, Orthoptics and Audiometry.