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increase in the amount of work which has fallen upon the Solarium
staff. The Borough Council began to provide light treatment in
1924 and for this purpose the waiting room of the old Tuberculosis
Dispensary was utilised. The number of patients increased
so rapidly that this accommodation became insufficient, and in
1926 a temporary corrugated iron structure was erected behind
the Dispensary. In this building patients were treated until
the Public Health Centre was opened in November 1936, and
the number of treatments given annually averaged 26,000.
"It was anticipated that the amount of work which would be
done in the new building would greatly exceed that which had
previously been done, and that the maximum attendance would
not exceed 50,000. Provision was made for expansion on this
scale. Such expansion was anticipated for several reasons: —
(1) Even in the old premises a certain number of patients had to
be put on the waiting list.
(2) Provision was made in the new Centre for giving certain
valuable forms of treatment which it had not been possible
to give in the old premises. These new forms of treatment
included Diathermy, Medical Electricity, Medical Exercises
and Massage.
(3) Possibly a further reason for the increase is the fact that
there is no other institution in the borough at which
patients can obtain such treatment.
"Whatever be the real reasons there has certainly been a
very large increase in the work of this department, an increase
which has considerably exceeded our anticipations.
"The total number of treatments given during 1937 was
82,143. A considerable number of patients have more than one
form of treatment at one attendance, for instance it is the practice
in many cases to give radiant heat treatment before ultra violet
radiation or Medical Electricity or Diathermy. It thus comes
about that while the number of treatments in 1937 was 82,143,
the number of attendances was 51,125.
"For comparison with other years the figure to be taken is
that of the total number of treatments, namely 82,143, since in