asked the Minister for Health whether, since school medical inspections were first carried out, he has investigated why a mere 30 per cent of children are examined each year; what effective steps are to be taken to see that the 70 per cent of children denied these health safeguards are given them; and why the number of school medical inspections carried out has fallen during the past year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Medical Inspections.
5.
Some 30 per cent of the national school population receive school medical examinations in accordance with the existing regulations which require a child to have three such examinations during his national school career. Three routine medical examinations for each child was accepted both here and in Britain as a reasonable target for a preventive health service designed to detect unknown or untreated ailments.
I have already announced my plans for progressively improving the school health service from October next. I envisage that more frequent visits by the doctors to the schools and greater involvement of parents, teachers and district nurses in the service, should ensure that children needing attention come to notice at the earliest possible stage.
The number of children examined under the school health service in 1969 showed an increase of 6,000 over the previous year, while the proportion of national schools visited rose marginally.