- M 54-
205. The School Hygiene Branch of the Medical Department consists of the School Medical Officer, two Chinese School Medical Officers, one Lady Medical Officer (part time) and five School Nurses.
206. 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.
207. Except that they have been gazetted Inspectors under the Education Ordinance to give them power of entry into certain classes of schools the School Medical Officers have no powers under either the Education Ordinance or the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance. They cooperate with the Medical Officer of Health and with the Education Officers. They act as advisers to the Education Department but it rests with the latter to decide whether or not to accept the advice offered.
208. The duties of the School Medical Branch include:-
(1) inspection of school premises.
(2) physical examination and re-examination of pupils.
(3) medical treatment with regard to (a) general diseases,
(b) defects of ear, nose and throat, (c) eye defects.
(4) health instruction and propaganda.
(5) office work, i.e., correspondence, reports, statistics, etc.
209. With the limited staff available for the purpose it is only possible to deal with a small part of the total hygiene work calling for attention, and this applies equally to inspection of premises, examination of personnel, treatment of disease and general health instruction and propaganda.
210. With regard to inspection of premises 707 visits were paid to buildings in which it was proposed to establish vernacular schools and concerning which application had been made to the Education Authority for registration. It not infrequently happens that several visits have to be paid to one building to ensure that the conditions demanded as a precedent to registration have been carried out.