More school health tests

Press, 27 November 1980, Page 3

More school health tests

Routine medical assessments of primary school children will be reintroduced next year. Children aged five Will be tested in all primary schools . Pilot projects have been field at various schools and last year the Health Department issued questionnaires for parents. Tne responses of teachers and parents indicated that the routine assessment would be art advantage for school staff. The Deputy Medical Officer of Health in Christchurch (Dr M. A. Brieseman) said it was not a case of finding many undetected ailments. Rather, improved liaison between parents, teachers, and public health nurses would be better . than the present system of intermittent referrals. Dr Brieseman said the as-

sessments would be made by public health nurses, with a back-up of medical officers.. The service would be introduced as widely as possible. Routine tests had earlier been part of school life but had been discontinued when the improvement in medical services generally made them less important in the detection of ailments.

The executive officer (general services) of the North Canterbury Education Board, Mr R. McQuillan, said that the pilot schemes had led to nurses spending longer in schools, and closer interests had developed between teachers, parents, and the nurses.

All the education . boards had been in favour of the scheme and public nurses in some areas had on their own initiative already begun the programme. _______