[Report 1936] / School Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council.

  • Wiltshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1936
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1936] / School Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/50 (page 21)
    As regards quality, we have endeavoured to secure the safest available supplies and the order of preference has been as set out in the foregoing table. Where ordinary farm supplies only are available, they are not accepted unless recommended by the Agricultural Department and all herds concerned are regularly inspected by the whole-time veterinary staff. “Pasteurised” milk has three great drawbacks. The process is not fool-proof and milk can be and is sometimes produced by pasteurising plants which is not pasteurised. Secondly, it is only available in a few parts of the County. Thirdly it is disliked and refused by many children. On the other hand, unpasteurised milk can give rise to tuberculosis though, in this County, this danger is being lessened by the work of the County Veterinary Staff. It can give rise to other infections, as we experienced at the end of the year at Wilton where 112 school children contracted acute gastro-enteritis, though, happily, with no after effects, as the result of the infection of the milk by an apparently perfectly healthy cow at an accredited farm. It is true that boiling renders milk safe, but it has not been considered practicable to instal a general scheme for boiling milk at school. The taste of boiled milk and the fact that it is necess¬ arily given in cups renders it less popular than that supplied in bottles under the Scheme and drunk through the straws. No responsible medical officer would deny the desirability of pasteurised milk where such is available and acceptable to children, but to insist on such supplies—or on the boiling at school of all other milk —would be greatly to accelerate the falling off in the numbers of children taking milk at school. The value of milk to school children as a food is obvious wherever it is given and the decision has to be made between giving this benefit only where certain t}/pes of supplies are avail¬ able and giving it to much larger numbers where supplies include also milk from accredited and ordinary farms. ^ It is true that these latter supplies, though greatly improved of recent years, are still not free from the possibility of carrying disease. Against this risk must be considered the general gain in health of a much larger number of children than those for whom the special types of supply are obtainable. 12. CO-OPERATION OF PARENTS, TEACHERS, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS AND VOLUNTARY BODIES. (u) Co-operation Of Parents. Parents are invited to all routine inspections and every effort is made to enlist their co-operation in the work of the doctors, dentists and nurses in the schools. Whilst there are always a few parents who definitely neglect their children the pro¬ portion is very small and the desire amongst parents generally to give their children all the benefits available under the school medical service manifestly increases as the years go on. The most frequent expressions of satisfaction are aroused as perhaps is natural, amongst parents whose children have received the benefit of a stay at the Marlborough Convalescent Home, but such welcome signs of appreciation are by no means confined to any one branch of the service. (b) Cooperation ©f Teachers. As mentioned in previous reports the assistance from teachers affects many aspects of school medical work, and we tend to rely more and more on this help, which has been given so long and so continuously. It is realised that the expenditure of much time and trouble is involved, but the school medical service would lose most of its efficiency if the voluntary services of teachers were withheld, and I again desire to express appreciation of the great help we have received from the teaching staff of all the elementary schools. (c) Co-operation ©f School Attendance Officers, The work of the School Attendance Department continues to be carried on with the closest co-ordination with the School Medical Department. School attendance is so intimately connected with the physical con¬ dition of the child that questions are continuously arising which require the joint considera-