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supplied with spectacles in order that it may be
ascertained whether the spectacles are being worn
regularly and with satisfactory results.
(iv) That an account of the working of the arrangements,
including particulars as to the expenditure
incurred and the number of cases in which
spectacles were provided, will be given in the
School Medical Officer's annual report."
Difficulty of Obtaining Prescriptions for Glasses.
—The difficulty that arises in connection with these conditions
is that of obtaining proper prescriptions for the
necessary glasses. According to the requirements of the
Board of Education, prescriptions must be obtained from a
duly qualified and experienced oculist. Parents are, therefore,
obliged to take their children to the special departments
of general hospitals or to special eye hospitals, and
the time and money involved in this procedure is often more
than the parents can afford. In addition, in some cases the
hospitals will not part with the prescription, except it is
taken to the hospital optician, who is not always one of the
approved contracting opticians to the Willesden Education
Committee. In both cases the result is that the child has
frequently to go without glasses altogether, or obtains them
only after a long delay, during which its eyesight has
generally become worse.
Establishment of Eve Clinic.—The difficulty referred
to in the foregoing paragraph would be at once met by the
establishment of an Eve Clinic by the Education Committee.
Accommodation for Eve Clinic.—The necessary
accommodation for this Eye Clinic is available at 225, High
Road, Kilburn, where the Ringworm Clinic is established.