[Report 1947] / School Medical Officer of Health, St Helens.

  • St. Helens (Merseyside, England). Council.
Date:
1947
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1947] / School Medical Officer of Health, St Helens. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    I TO THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE ST. HELENS EDUCATION COMMITTEE I i Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit my Annual Report as School Medical Officer for the year 1947. • It is satisfactory to record that for the first time since the end of the war, it ' was found possible to carry out a full programme of Routine Medical Inspection I of all age groups of children. This was due to the fact that the staff complement of Assistant School Medical Officers was brought up to normal strength for the first time in many years. In the incidence of defects discovered amongst the school children little cause for remark was found. Comment should perhaps be made regarding the increase in the number of infested children discovered in school inspections. As noted in the text of the report, steps were taken to deal with this by the appointment of a trained Nurse to assist School Health Visitors in the work of verminous inspections. Owing to lack of trained staff it was found necessary to close down the Speech Therapy Clinic during the year. The scarcity of Speech Therapists is very marked and it is feared that the prospect of obtaining trained help in this work is rather remote for some time to come. On the other hand it was found possible to commence the work of Child Guidance during the year and the Child Guidance Clinic was opened on a part-time basis. Here again the lack of whole-time trained staff is a great handicap to a fuller development in the scope of this work. For much of the work done I am indebted to Dr. O’Brien, Deputy School Medical Officer, and to him and to other members of the staff, and to teachers and officials of the Education Department, I would take this opportunity of ex¬ pressing my appreciation of their ever willing and helpful assistance. I am. Ladies and Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, FRANK HAUXWELL.