View report page

- 23 -

Acute Rheumatism in Children.
In 1927, the Council resolved to ask the Minister of
Health to make acute rheumatism in children a notifiable disease,
and this request was granted. The Council established a rheumatism
supervisory centre at the Princess Louise Hospital and
this continued to operate up to the outbreak of war in 1939,
when the hospital closed.
In June, 1944, the centre was re-established and
Dr. Janet Aitken was re-appointed physician-in-charge. The
hospital provides nursing assistance and other facilities, including
the allocation of two beds for acute rheumatism patients
recommended by the centre.
Sessions were held on each Friday during the year and
one hundred and twelve Kensington children attended. Of these,
thirteen were referred to the Princess Louise Hospital for inpatient
treatment. These children were in-patients for periods
varying from two days to thirty-nine days. The average stay in
hospital per child was twenty-four days.
One of the Council's health visitors attends each
session to act as liaison officer, and she made one hundred and
nine visits to the homes of patients.
Chronic Rheumatism.
A clinic was established at the West London Hospital
in pre-war days for the treatment of patients suffering from
chronic rheumatism in Kensington. The clinic was closed down in the
early days of the war and after its re-opening in 1940 various
difficulties and changes in personnel were experienced. Whilst
the treatment was satisfactory, the records were not kept
adequately.
During the course of 1945, the physician-in-charge
returned from the Armed Forces and more normal work is now in
progress.
The British Red Cross Society's Rheumatism Clinic
at 15, Holland Park Gardens, functioned throughout the war
period satisfactorily.
The Council make annual grants to both these
institutions .