View report page

and students from the Chelsea Polytechnic Training Centre, and
I have to thank Mr. Bride and Miss Montgomery of that institution
for their very valuable help in starting the clinic and their
active co-operation in running it.
In the beginning there were two sessions a week, on Wedneday
afternoon and evening. It soon became necessary to
increase the number of sessions, and at present the clinic is open
for five sessions a week, on three afternoons and two evenings.
One of the afternoons is reserved for patients who are seen by
appointment only, and only patients who are at work in the day
time are seen at the evening sessions. Miss Montgomery is inchàrge
of the clinic and associated with her are a number of
paid assistants and a number of students from the Polytechnic.
A charge of sixpence is made for each treatment, and in the case of
patients seen by appointment the charge is one shilling. Each
chiropodist works in a cubicle and there are at present five cubicles
in operation at each session. The cost of equipping a cubicle is
approximately £10.
The number of attendances up to date has been 3,589 ;
males 992 and females 2,597 ; and the number has shown a
progressive increase each month, so that it will be necessary in
the immediate future to consider the opening of a second clinic
in the other half of the borough. I hope that it may be possible
to provide more sessions for men in the evenings and possibly
one on Saturday afternoon, and I think it likely that the appointment
session will be abolished as it appears to be less popular
than the ordinary session.
NURSING.
In my last Annual Report it was stated that arrangements
had been made with the Nursing Associations to provide general
nursing assistance, where necessary, at a fee of tenpence per
visit. I very much regret that this scheme was disallowed by
the Minister who was not prepared to sanction the Council's
proposals. Our scheme was accordingly modified to comply
with his requirements on the 16th January, 1930, and we are