SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
 Health services have two major aims: health maintenance and health improvement. The maintenance of
health requires attention to the control of communicable diseases, and to instant and efficient care in emergen-
cies. Health improvement calls for an assessment of the health of individuals, simple but authoritative advice
to people, and conscientious follow-up.
 In the not-so-distant past, the health service was considered the sole responsibility of the doctor and the
nurse. Today this is viewed as co-operative undertaking in which teachers play a very important role. Indi-
viduals with professional health training are still required, but their efforts are more closely linked with the
first line work of the teachers.
 Purpose of the workshop: Critical review of the existing school health service, with suggestions for its
improvement.
 The following problems in the the school health service were examined, and suggestions made:
 1. The object of the service-the early discovery and correction of defects, health education, promotion of
 health.
 2. Duties of the sanitary inspector-at least yearly inspection of every school, written reports, listing
 recommendations forimprovement. These reports should be sent to school Managers, teachers and doctors.
 They may also be made available to the public; insect and pest control, control of communicable
 diseases, health education.
 3. Functions of the public health nurse in the school-planning and participating in school medical Inspection.
 This participation includes the interpretation of the results of the inspection to pupils, parents and teach-
 ers; instruction of teachers in child observation and screening procedures; assistance in the prevention
 and control of illness including communicable diseases and other infections; leadership in planning for
 the provision of proper emergency care and first aid for sudden illness or accidents; helping to guide
 the family and the school in health matters; serving as a liaison between school, home and hospitals, to
 improve the health of school children; participating as a resource person in the school and community
 health education programmes for the pupils, teachers and parents; participation in the modification of
 the school programme to meet the special health needs of handicapped pupils; assistance in the develop-
 ment and maintenance of a healthful school environment; contribution to In-service training programmes
 for teachers; participation in planning, co-ordinating, evaluating and promoting health programmes
 and resources in the school and the community.
 4. Duties of the medical oficer-as there is a great shortage of medical officers their duties should be the
 diagnosis and treatment of defects.
 5. Medical Inspection-the object of medical inspection is to assess the health of each child and the
 degree, however slight, to which it is capable of improvement; to note defects and to take steps to re-
 medy these when possible; to educate parents, children and teachers in health matters.
 6. Presentation of children for inspection-parents should be always present during medical inspection;
 Records ofinsepction should be kept at the school.
 7. Periodical inspections-a child entering the primary school for the first time should be required to bring
 a medical certificate showing the immunization status of the child against small pox, whooping cough,
 diptheria, tetanus, yellow fever, tuberculosis. If this is not possible, the teacher should arrange for an
 inspection as soon as possible after admissions have been made; before leaving school at the age of 13;
 secondary school students should not be accepted without record of medical inspection on leaving ele-
 mentary school, or without some other medical certificate; yearly medical inspection including x-ray for
 all teachers free of charge; teachers should provide the Public Health Nurse with a list of the children
 attending her school who are boarding out. The Nurse will then visit the homes once every term and will
 see that the child is examined at yearly intervals.
 8. Special examination-is for children who appear to the teacher to need a medical examination.
 9. Height and weight records-should be filled in at the beginning of every term by the teacher in order to
 enable her to appraise the health of her pupils better.