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151. During the Summer holidays the members of the Staff acted as reliefs in other branches of the Medical Department.
152. Of the schools controlled by the Education Department twenty were "provided" or Government schools (note: the Technical Institute is not classed herein as a school), 333 were aided or subsidised by grants from public funds, and 718 were unaided. The number of pupils in attendance at Government schools was 5,476; similar figures for the aided and unaided schools were 28,677 and 39,195 respectively, in all a total of 73,348.
153. The purposes of a school medical service are not only to detect the sick and ailing in their early stages, but to seek for anomalies of growth and development, so that measures may be taken to prevent not only the progress of ill-health but also its causes. Its basis is the routine medical inspection of school children, and since they are collected together for definite periods they form a section of the community whose health conditions are comparatively easy to ascertain.
154. In the period under review 5,216 medical examinations (3,894 routine inspections and 1,322 re-inspections) were carried out at 14 Government schools and 8 private vernacular schools.
155. Abnormalities discovered at the time of a routine inspection are classified into two groups: (a) defects in need of treatment, and (b) conditions that are placed on an observation list for further consideration. The incidence of defects in need of treatment (excluding dental disease) varies according to the type of school, and is recorded as being between 19% and 30%.
156. There are three minor ailment clinics for the treatment of Government school children, and each is open on two forenoons in the week (4,005 attendances). There are also two "special" clinics: one deals with Ear, Nose and Throat cases, the other with visual defects (745 attendances). In addition to the number of attendances recorded under "special" clinics, 219 children were examined and treated by private practitioners on account of bad eyesight. The method of securing treatment of children attending private schools was by means of advice to parents.
157. Of the total number of persons referred for re-inspection, 1,322 were seen after a reasonable interval. 59.1% were cured or definitely improved and 40.9% were in the same state as before.
158. Twenty-two Grant-in-aid and boarding schools were visited by the Medical Officers who inspect premises, furniture and cooking arrangements, but neither see nor examine the pupils. Information regarding health conditions can only be obtained by the study of examination records and returns of illness, the preparation of which must be left in the hands of private medical practitioners.