§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will make a statement on the condition of child health in each year since 1979 as revealed by the child health surveillance programme;
(2) what was the total number of children seen by school nurses during the child health surveillance programme in 1978 and each year since.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe available information about the number of pupils seen by nurses is shown in column I of the table. We do not collect centrally information about the overall condition of children's health, but the proportion of pupils referred on for medical examination or treatment is shown in column II of the table, and although there are fluctuations, is broadly constant.
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School Health Service in England. Health surveillance by nurses I II Year† Pupils seen by nurses* (Thousands) Pupils referred for medical examination or treatment as percentage of pupils seen by nurses 1979 4,027 4.9 1980 4,533 5.4
I II Year† Pupils seen by nurses* (Thousands) Pupils referred for medical examination or treatment as percentage of pupils seen by nurses 1981 4,579 5.5 1982 4,621 5.6 1983 4,492 5.2 1984 4,450 5.6 * Not including hygiene inspections.
† Information not collected before 1979.