97. The pupils and staff received their inoculation either in the schools themselves or in the bealth centres in the vicinity.
98. In the schools coming under the School Medical Service the following categories of pupils were examined :—
(2) all new entrante.
(5) Routine examination of all pupils falling under the
age groups-6, 10, 12, 15 and 18 years.
(e) All children placed under observation as a result of routine examinations, and those referred to doctors for special examination.
(d) _All_children for an annual check up of vision and
teeth.
99. Pupils found to be suffering from defects requiring treatment are instructed to attend one of the school clinics and a report on the child's condition is forwarded to the principal_of the school concerned with the request that it should be forwarded to the guardian of the pupil.
100. General school clinics are held in three centres ; —the Harcourt Health Centre, the Ellis Kadoorie school building, and the Kowloon Hospital out-patient department. Special eve clinics, dental clinics and ear, nose and throat elinics were held in the Harcourt Health Centre and Kowloon Hospital out-patient department.
101. Pupils requiring surgical attention could go to the Kowloon and Queen Mary Hospitals and all cases of auspected pulmonary tuberculosis were referred to the Tuberculosis Clinic at the Ilarcourt Health Centre.
102. Attendances at these Clinica were as follows:
New
Revisits
Total
TABLE 13
29
10 days at a cost of 48 ceute a catty. The four ration was 1.6 taela a day or one catly for 10 days at the cost of 44 cenia a catty, On March 1st the price of rice was increased to 54 cents a catty and flour at 66 conte, but the rationed quantities remained the same. Flour ration remained in this position until September lɔ̃th when it was de-rationed. On August 1st the rire rafion was incrossed to 7.2 taels a day or 44 catties for 10 days, the price remaining at 54 cents a cafly. This was the position at the end
of the year.
106. As in 1947 the general standard of nutrition was good with little evidence of gross under-nourishment or malnutrition. The two factors which appear to have contributed must to this improved nutrition standard is the considerable post war increase in wages in the labour and artisan classes and the limited ration of rice available which haa resulted in a greater variety in the diet. 107. Deaths from nutritional diseases recorded during the year were 1 death from Barlows disease (infantile scurgy) and 140 from Beri-Beri. This latter figure compares with 312 in 1947 and 7229 in 1940, the last year before hostilities when these figures were available.
108. Hopes for the appointment of a nutrition officer were doomed to disappointment and at the end of the period under review there was still no officer in the departtoend whose duties were primarily concerned with nutrition.
(vii) Social Hygiene.
109. The Health Officer Social Hygiene has a staff of 5 doctors to assist him, 1 technical assistant, 8 dressera and 17 nursoj, There are five Government clinica:-Queen's Road West, (male and female), Wanchai (female), and the Harcourt Health Centre (male) on the Island, and in Kowloon one at Ashley Road (male) and one at Tsim Sha Tsui Health Centre (female). In addition to these centres, there is a small hospital at the Wanchai Social Hygiene contre which has 16 beda for women suil Four cots. There are also six male beds and two female beds in the Queen Mary Hospital. Attendances at these clinics are shown in Table
TABLE 14
General School Clinic
Eye Clinics
Dental Clinics
E.N.T. Clinics
14.
5.530
806
4.411
249
6.255
595
1.315
62
11.785
1.481
5.736
311
103. The optical workshop supplied 804 pairs of spectacles to pupils during the year.
104. 120 visits were made by school nurses to the homes of school children who were in serious need of medical attention, but whose attendance at the clinics had been unsatisfactory.
105.
(vi)
Nutrition.
Until the end of February, 1948 the rationed quantity of rice remained at 5.6 taels a day or 31 catties for a period of
Male
Female
Total
Clinic
New
Old
New
Old
New
Old
Queen's Rd, W,
Wanchai
Tsim Sha Tsui
1.979 25,950 1,187 23.317 3.188 49.267
2,821 20.411 3,211 23.911
5,035 | 30.322
3,139 25,288 2.877
30.791 6,016 56.179
Total
7.942 77.749 6,275 78,019 14.217 155,768