[Report 1971] / School Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council.

  • Wiltshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1971
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1971] / School Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/44 (page 4)
    Foreword As foreshadowed in my report for 1970, the change to the selective method of medical examination throughout the County was made in 1971. This means that between the examination of all children on entry to school and the examination at the statutory school leaving age children are not examined by a doctor unless there appears to be a special need for this. The arrangements for the change caused no difficulty and as the decision to adopt the selective method was based on a prolonged trial in Wiltshire as well as upon experience elsewhere, there is every reason to suppose that the method will prove satisfactory from the medical point of view and that it will be an advance in co-operation between parents, teachers and doctors in considering the health of children. During the year general practitioners took part in the work of the school health service for the first time and it is to be expected that their participation will gradually increase. This is a step towards future integration of the health services though there is no doubt that the work of the present school medical officers will continue to be needed at least for a good many years. It has now been decided nationally that the school health service will be transferred to the National Health Service when both the N.H.S. and Local Government are re-organised on the 1st April, 1974. This decision should be welcomed as the means of keeping the health care of school children within the main stream of medicine from which legal and administrative boundaries must not be allowed to separate it. It will be very important, however, to maintain the links with the education service and this should be easy to attain, especially in Wiltshire where there will be less disturbance of the present geographical boundaries than in most parts of the country. Reference is made on page 22 to the transfer of the five junior training centres, previously administered by the Health Committee as part of the National Health Service, to the Education Committee thus bringing formally within the educational system the more severely educationally subnormal children. Naturally the school health service applies to these new special schools, which were formerly the responsibility of the Health Department under different legislation. The health of school children in the County remained good and interest and support on the part of parents was much in evidence, as was shown for instance by their attendance at 90% of the medical examinations of children on school entry. As usual, the staff of the school health service have carried out a very substantial and increasing load of work with enthusiasm and efficiency and I am grateful to our colleagues in general practice and the hospital service as well as to the Chief Education Officer and the staff of the Education Department for their continued help. C. D. L. LYCETT. County Hall, Trowbridge.