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43
At the Evelyn Medical Home, 251 children received breathing
exercises and other treatment. 175 were treated for mouth breathing
and 64 for curvature of the spine.
In addition to the above good work there is a camp school for boys
and girls which carries on excellent work, although it is unfortunately
still unassisted by any public authority. As many as 84 children have
been in camp at one time, and have gone through a course of open air
treatment and education at the same time with excellent results. The
feeding and sleeping arrangements are particularly good, and I consider
Miss McMillan is performing a great public service to the Boroughs
of Deptford and Greenwich in not only treating so many of our
children but educating them to lead healthy lives.
A new departure was initiated last March by the formation of a
baby camp—at the end of the summer 29 children under school age
were living and sleeping in the camp. There was hardly any illness
even during the hot months; the children put on weight regularly.
Their sleep is reported to have been most quiet; in every way they
enjoyed the open space, which was large for these tiny ones. There
seems to have been marked mental improvement as well as physical
during the period under report.
These children had all their meals in school, including dinner.
This interesting experiment has been remarkably successful and has
exceeded any anticipation of our own. It is one that is capable of great
development and production of good to the rising generation. It has
been generally recognised that the proper care of children under school
age forms a serious gap in the measures that have been suggested or
ought to be put in practice during recent years to ensure a healthier and
more vigorous people. This open-air camp for these babies is an
endeavour to bridge the gap, and it is a method of treatment and child
nurture that might well be encouraged and developed.