[Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Brighton County Borough.

  • Brighton (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Brighton County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    84/146 (page 82)
    eye is tested separately with + 1 and — 1 lenses, and any improvement with these is noted. Occasionally the test card for astigmatism is used for older children in cases in which it is suspected that such exists. The children then return to their class rooms; the average time they are away is from 15 to 30 minutes. Hearing is tested by means of a watch, each ear being tested separately, and the distance at which the watch is audible is noted. Cases shewing considerable deafness are re-tested with the forced whisper test. After the inspection, the parents of children found to be defective in any way are notified of the defect or disease, and advised to seek treatment from their usual Medical Attendant (Form 5 M.I.). If any condition requiring further examination has been found, the parents are requested to attend at the Public Health Office with their child. After such re-examination, advice is given as to the precautions to be taken, and the necessity or otherwise of obtaining treatment. The re-examinations usually made are in cases of heart and lung diseases, diseases of the nervous system, and errors of refraction. The proeedure of “following up.—After notification, the home is visited by a School Nurse, who advises the parent what steps should be taken to cure the child. The advice given depends on the nature of the defect, and on the social circumstances of the family. In order to facilitate the visitation of such cases, a card-index system is used, streets being grouped in alphabeti- cal order; the names of cases in each street are entered upon the card from a list furnished to the School Nurse. The work of visitation has thus been rendered much easier. The card used is shewn below. M. I. 9. No. House School Name Disease VI V‘2 V3 Street Remarks Visits are made on at least three occasions if no treatment is obtained. In cases of difficulty the parent is referred to the School Doctor, and the child is re'-examined at the Town Hall, and the mode of obtaining treatment is shewn; generally this resolves itself into the provision of Hospital Letters, or the arrangement for the child to attend Hospital on certain days, when the mother is at liberty. The provision of spectacles at cheap rates also belongs to this category.