| Description | At the beginning of this address, Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury suggests that the school medical service had 'raised the standard of health of the child' and 'educated its parents.' She provides a statistical overview of children receiving school medical treatment and a survey of the work carried out in different localities. Taylor Cadbury describes the services available to school children in Birmingham, referring to the work of the Tonsil and Adenoid Clinic established at Soho Hill in Handsworth and the use of X-Ray apparatus to treat ring-worm. She also provides an overview of the work undertaken at school clinics across Birmingham including ophthalmic examinations and dental treatment. In addition, Taylor Cadbury refers to the establishment of clinics for remedial exercise, open-air schools and a residential school for crippled children which formed part of Birmingham's School Medical Service.
Taylor Cadbury remarks on further advances in welfare provision for school children, stating that 'the paramount necessity of sending children out into the world, mentally well-equipped and physically fit, should be recognised by all local authorities'. She adds that 'to really benefit by the Education provided by the State, the school children must be healthy and live in decent homes.' Taylor Cadbury advocates the further development of dental treatment and the implementation of clinics for children suffering from deafness. She adds that services could be improved through the establishment of convalescent homes for school children and an increase in support for children suffering from malnutrition. Drawing on the words of her friend and colleague Chief Medical Officer Sir George Newman, Taylor Cadbury reiterates Newman's argument that the child had become 'the starting point' of preventive medicine. |