Poor hearing and sight are being caught in Wairarapa kids before it hurts their learning in school.
A Government-funded programme has checked the health of 498 out of 550 4-year-olds in the last year.
Community child health co-ordinator Rita Onosa said the region was above the target of 80 per cent and consistently had one of the highest check rates in the country.
She attributed this to the use of electronic records and a partnership between Whaitoa Whanui, Plunket, and the district health board's Public Health Unit which tracked when a child turned 4 and needed a check-up.
The ''B4School Check'' programme had mostly found problems with children's teeth, hearing, and eyesight.
''Not being able to see or hear properly has quite a big impact on their ability to learn and their behaviour,'' Ms Onosa said.
''The whole idea of it is early detection and intervention and if you have any issues you have a whole year to check it out before they go school.''
The checks last 30 minutes if no problems are detected and are performed by Plunket nurses who check eyes, ears, teeth, weight and height, and their immunisation status.
Health checks spot weaknesses early
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