Health certificates

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Health certificates

Post by black labrador »

In the Malory Towers books the girls have to bring a 'health certificate' at the start of each term. Does anyone know what this involved? Did they need to have some kind of medical examination each term before they could come to school? Were there particular concerns about any infectious diseases at that time?
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Fiona1986 »

Things like measles and mumps were very common before we had immunisations for them, so yes all girls would have to have a doctor issue a certificate saying they were not ill and presumably hadn't been in contact with anyone infectious either.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Katharine »

I have a feeling that when I when on a Girl Guide holiday back in the late 1970s/early 1980s we also had to sign a form to say we hadn't been in contact with anyone who had certain illnesses.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Daisy »

You're right Katharine. The health form was a most important document in the Guides and was always insisted upon when we went to camp. If forgotten, a girl had to go home to get it.
I always assumed the Health Certificate in the Malory Towers series was a form to say the girls had not been in contact with any infectious illness in the last couple of weeks of their holiday.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by KEVP »

Even in my childhood in the 70s and 80s, my memory is that I would need a doctor's exam before starting at a new school in the UK.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

My son is currently doing NCS (National Citizen Service) and we had to sign a form to say he hadn't been in recent contact with anyone suffering from an infectious disease. He didn't have to obtain a certificate from the doctor though.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Wolfgang »

In one of the German Malory Towers continuation novels (Dolly - Wiedersehen auf der Burg = Dolly - reunion at the castle) there's a girl that behaves quite clumsy until the staff suspects that she has troubles with her eyes. She was sent to an ophthalmologist to check it and he confirms their suspicion and grumbles that this wasn't recognised earlier.

That makes me wonder, as the pupils are for months at boarding schools, if it wasn't necessary to check ears and eyes before the term or at least once a year. The amount of work for the staff involved with it is tremendous if something like this is discovered during a term, arranging appointments, accompanying the pupil etc.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Rob Houghton »

Its interesting to read people's replies. I never gave it much thought when reading the books, but surely each girl would have had the equivalent of doctor's records, informing the staff what blood-group they were, or if they had any long-term illnesses, or what other things they had suffered with, such as childhood illnesses etc? Even though there was less knowledge of allergies etc in those days, surely some of the girls would have been allergic to certain things, or might have reacted badly to various medicines etc? Wouldn't the 'Matron' need records to check things when a child was ill?
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Daisy »

I have no idea what a "real" boarding school required in the way of medical records but I would think the blood group was not one of them... such things were only discovered when one first had to have a blood test, which in most cases would not be as a child. I expect any outstanding medical condition would be on the school records but of course unless needed for a plot, would not need to be mentioned in a story.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Katharine »

I would have been surprised if their blood type was known unless they'd need an operation. I don't think my father knows his blood group, and I don't know what my teenager son's is. All I know is that he has a negative blood type, as I had to have all my children tested at birth as I would have needed an injection if they'd been a positive blood type. Presumably they knew what group he belonged to, not just that he was negative, but for some reason they didn't put the information in either his records or my hospital notes.

I don't know if allergies were very common in the 1940s. I think my parents knew of some children with hay fever, and I had a great-uncle who had a 'puffer' which presumably was a type of asthma inhaler. I don't know what medicines would have been about then either, anti-biotics were still in their infancy. I think it was more of a case of nursing a sick child and hoping they'd pull through. That's why quarantine was so important back then, people tried to avoid getting ill, rather than relying on medicines to cure them. My parents clearly remember the relief of the polio vaccination being made available in the 1950s.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Rob Houghton »

Yes - all probably true. I admit, I don't know my blood group, although I do have a card somewhere, which was part of my birth record from the hospital - and that gives my blood type. That was in 1971 but I guess going back to the 1940's many people wouldn't know.

Given that the girls at Enid's fictional schools were all very well-off, they would of course all had doctors, whereas many poor people wouldn't have had any sort of regular medical assistance until the NHS was set up. Doctors were too expensive!
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I'll warm me with your echoes
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Katharine »

On the subject of health care in the past, I recently read a fascinating article in our local newspaper about the old hospital here. Someone related a story of how they'd had an accident and were passed from department to department for about 6 hours before they were treated - so modern waiting times aren't necessarily any worse than they used to be.

I was also fascinated to read that a child with a broken arm was kept in for a few weeks, I think there were another couple of cases were people stayed in the hospital when they would have been sent home today. Parents were only allowed to visit their children about once a month.

The most amazing story that I read though as about the food. Patients would have a cup of tea in the afternoon, but only if they paid for it, and they could have a boiled egg for breakfast if it was sent in from home with their name on it! Unfortunately none of these stories were dated.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

When my sister was in hospital with Scarlet Fever back in the late 40's my Mother and Father were not allowed to visit her at all and she was in for about 6 weeks. Times were certainly different back in those days. All her toys had to be burned also! She remembers it as a most terrible experience of her life, being away from Mum and Dad for all those weeks.

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Re: Health certificates

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

The same thing happened to my dad when he had scarlet fever, Julie. He mentioned his toys being burnt too.

Fascinating to hear about the old hospital, Katharine.
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Re: Health certificates

Post by Rob Houghton »

I've never known anyone who had Scarlet Fever before - which is interesting, since I live in Birmingham! My Great Aunt did have meningitis in the early 1930's - and was in hospital around 4 months, then in convalescent hospital after that.

My parents didn't seem to have any really serious childhood diseases, though my dad had a baby sister who died when he was about three. :(
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
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Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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