[Report 1959] / School Medical Officer of Health, Counties of Perth & Kinross.

  • Perthshire (Scotland). County Council.
Date:
1959
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1959] / School Medical Officer of Health, Counties of Perth & Kinross. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    attendance of parents at inspections was much the same as in previous years. One talk was given to a Parent-Teacher Association during the year. 5. FINDINGS of I EPICAL INSPECTION. The number of children examined systematically was 6032, as against 7173 for the previous year. In addition, the Medical Officers examined in the schools 980 special cases and made 1206 re-examinations. The number of children examined for vision only at age seven was 1634 and the number of children in employment examined was 265. Except where otherwise stated, the figures in the following sections refer to the 6032 children examined systematically. 1. Clothing. Number of children examined system tically o032 Number with unsatisfactory clothing 10 (0.17a>) Perth City Perth County Number of examinations of children by the nurses 21,096 46,037 Number with unsatisfactory clothing (including footwear) 19 29 The nurses’ inspections are made without previous warning. 2. Footwear. Only 1 (0.02) child was found with unsatisfactory footwear. 3. Cleanliness. The findings at the routine school medical inspections are not a very reliable index of cleanliness since the children may have been cleaned up for the occasion. (a) Heads - dirty, nits or vermin 34 (0.56) (b) Bodies - dirty, or verminous 3 (0.05) The corresponding figures for last-year were (0.77) and (0.11) respectively. .... The nurses’ cleanliness inspections give a more reliable index since no warning is given of visits. In 21,098 examinations in Perth City Schools, 43 children were found to have-verminous heads on one or more occasions, as against 42 in 1957-58, 35 in 1956-57 and 48 in 1955-56. In addition 234 children were found to have nits on one or more occasions. In 46,Q37 County examinations, 43 children v.ere found to have verminous heads on one or more occasions, the previous figures being 56 in 1957-58 and 43 in 1956-57. In addition, 169 children were found to have nits on one or more occasions. The procedure lai^. down in the Education (Scotland) Act, 1946, was found to work satisfactorily. 8 formal notices were issued to parents requiring them to cleanse a total of 15 children. 4. Skin. Very few skin conditions were found at routine inspections. (a) Heads: Ringworm Nil Impetigo 1 (0.02) Others 18 (0.3) (b) Bodies: Ringworm Nil Impetigo 2 (0.03) Scabies 2 (0.03) Others 88 (1.46) 5, Nutrition. The general level of nutrition has been well maintained. Of the 6032 children examined, 36 (0.60) were in a state of nutrition regarded as slightly defective, and in 2(0.03) it was regarded as defective. 6. Mouth and Teeth. Of the 6032 children examined at routine inspections, 442 (7.33) were considered by the Medical Officers to have unhealthy mouths, but these figures must be regarded as conservative when compared with the findings of the detailed examinations by the Dental Officers. 7/