30
malnutrition, cheilitis, trachoma, otorrhoea and enlarged tonsils were found only amongst pupils attending B and C types of achools.
126. The percentage of children found with no apparent defects rose from 21.68% in 1948 to 37.14% in 1949.
J
127. 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 eye clinica, dental clinics and ear nose and throat clinics were held in the Harcourt Health Centre and Kowloon Hospital out-patient department.
128. Pupils requiring surgical attention could go to the Kowloon and Queen Mary Hospitals and all cases of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis were referred to the Tuberculosis Clinic at the Harcourt Health Centre.
129. In October, 1949, an orthoptic clinic was started which ran until January 1950 when the orthoptist who gave her services voluntarily left the Colony. There were 15 cases of strabismus treated out of a total of 19 discovered.
General School Clinic.
130. Attendances at the school clinics were as follows:
Eye Dental E.N.T. Orthoptic Clínica Clinics Clinics Clinic.
New cases Revisits
8.719 1,268 5,562 5,881 766 1,742
389
15
74
37
Total
14,600 2,034 7,304
463
52
131. The optical workshop supplied 1,072 pairs of spec- tacles to pupils during the year.
132. Fifty 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.
133. During the year 2,031 inspections of school premises were carried out as follows:
Government (New)
New applications: Day Schools New applications: Night Schools
Applications for extension
1
50
MAJ
80
57
ז זיי
31
Re-inspections
Application for relaxation of health
requirements in schools
1,622
201
2,031
134. Of the premises inspected four were refused in their entirety and one in part as being unsuitable for use as school premises. The results of the inspection of school buildings are shown in Annexure H(2).
135. At the present time while all school buildings are inspected by the Schools Health Service only some 17,000 children out of a total of approximately 140,000 attending school are included in the servico.
136. Plans are being laid and negotiations started with the school managers to extend the school service in batches of
The 20,000 children until ultimately all children are included. cost of the scheme is estimated at su average of $15 per child, which would include all medical attention, in-patient and out- patient, dental attention including conservative work for the second dentition, and the provision of spectacles were needed.
137. It is too early yet to say what the reaction will be but it is likely that while the school managers will support it many of the parents will not, for a variety of reasons.
(vi) Nutrition.
138. In the last two years the standard of nutrition in the Colony was good with little evidence of undernourishment or malnutrition,
189. No surveys were carried out during the year.
140. Deaths from beri-beri during the year, mostly re- ported from the public mortuaries, numbered 100 as compared with 140 last year and 312 in 1947. In 1940, when there was a similarly large influx of refugees into the Colony, the number of deaths from beri-beri amounted to 7,289 and it is not easy to say why the standard of nutrition of the present lot of refugees should be so much higher.
141. Throughout the year the rationed quantity of rice has averaged approximately 14 catties per month per person. The price of average grades remained at 54 cents per catty, but