[Report 1935] / School Medical Officer of Health, West Suffolk County Council.

  • West Suffolk (England). County Council.
Date:
1935
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1935] / School Medical Officer of Health, West Suffolk County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    EAR, NOSE AND THROAT CONDITIONS. In 1935, three cases of ear disease were recommended for treatment, while three were noted for observation. Included in these figures were two cases of defective hearing noted for treatment and two cases of defective hearing noted for observation. At the end of the year six children were being maintained by the Authority at Certified Schools for the Deaf. Conditions of the nose and throat recommended for treatment numbered 101 ; this figure was made up of 36 cases of enlarged tonsils, and 65 cases of enlarged tonsils and adenoids; in addition, 432 cases of these defects were maintained under observation. The policy of the Department in recommending treatment for these cases only when it is obvious that the condition is affecting the child’s health and development has been maintained; in addition, a large number of cases in which the tonsils and adenoids are in some way abnormal are kept under observation lest an extension of their abnormality may one day lead to real interference with health. This Education Authority has no scheme for the operative treatment of these conditions, and work is carried out by the various Voluntary Hospitals v/ithin and without the County, and the Authority does not assume any financial responsibility for the operative treatment of these cases. I can only repeat my note of last year in which I stated that the present position was open to much justifiable criticism; it is still my belief that any procedure, which the Loca] Authority is authorised by law to finance should so be financed, and should not be carried out at the expense of the Voluntary Hospital System. By courtesy of the Hospital Authorities, I am able to state that in 1935, 55 children were operated upon in the West Suffolk General Hospital for conditions of the nose and throat. DISEASES OF THE SKIN. Only one case of ringworm was noted for observation, and this disease continues, as in recent years, to be comparatively rare in the County. Six cases of impetigo were recommended for treatment and one was recommended for observation. No other skin disease of importance was noted. The continued improvement in the number of skin diseases recorded each year follows the improvement in the general cleanliness of the school population and to-day’s position is one more testimony to< the work of the School Medical Service. EXTERNAL EYE DISEASE AND DEFECTIVE VISION. Under this heading, treatment recommendations were made in 143 cases of defective vision and in three cases of squint. In addition, 64 cases of defective vision, 8 cases of squint, and 11 cases of other eye conditions were maintained under observation. DISEASES OF THE HEART AND CIRCULATION. No case of organic heart disease was found at routine inspection, but 153 cases of functional disorder of the heart were noted; one case of anaemia was referred for treat¬ ment, while 112 similar cases were maintained under observation. I repeat my note of last year when I said that the high number of functional heart cases under observation is much more a matter of safety than of urgency, and it is to be expected that practically all, if not all, these children will reach and pass through adult life quite unencumbered by any heart disease or heart symptoms. It has been my experience over a number of years that in both adults and children the less said about functional heart trouble the better, and I have yet to find any serious result arising from this view. The rather high number of cases of anaemia is somewhat disquieting, especially in view of the malnutrition found in this County; the two conditions are closely related and both must be a matter of some concern. DISEASES OF THE LUNGS. During the year, 12 cases of bronchitis were noted for observation, while 195 cases of other non-tuberculous diseases were maintained under observation.