[Report 1949] / School Medical Officer of Health, Cheshire County Council.

  • Cheshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1949] / School Medical Officer of Health, Cheshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/28 (page 3)
    ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF SCHOOL MEDICAL OFFICER FOR 1949 To the Chairman and Members of the Education Committee. Madam Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour to present my annual report on the Schools Health Service dealing with the work done during the year 1949. A full staff of whole-time Assistant Medical Officers has been maintained throughout the year, and of the 24 whole-time posts for Dentists on the establishment 19 were occupied. In the areas of Stalybridge, Dukinfield, Sale and Congleton, where the post of School Dentist is vacant, arrangements were made for one of the neighbouring School Dentists to do urgency work at stated times at the Clinics. It is most regrettable that these vacancies should persist, as regular routine dental inspection and the treatment of dental defects are most important for the main- tenance of dental health amongst school children. Once there has been a lapse of time in routine inspection and treatment, the arrears of work accumulate, and several years elapse before sufficiently frequent visits to schools in the area can be instituted. The western half of the County is now covered as regards speech therapy, but despite repeated advertisement, it has not been possible to fill vacancies for Speech Therapists in the remainder of the County. No replies have been received to advertisements for Psychiatric Social Workers. One additional School Clinic has been set up at Brom- borough. There is a serious lack of clinic facilities at Heswall, Neston, Hoylake, Marple and Cheadle, but sites are being acquired in each of these areas for the erection of Clinic Centres which will accommodate both the School Health and Maternity and Child Welfare Services. Dental Clinics were opened during 1949 at Timperley, Knutsford and Bredbury. The projected buildings mentioned in the previous para- graph will each include Dental Clinics.