View report page

The Hospital Almoner arranges for dentures when necessary, either through
the Charity Organisation Society or some other body, the patients themselves
contributing to the cost according to their means. This scheme appears to be
satisfactory, and in every case dentures have been provided when recommended
by the dentist.
The various charitable organisations in the district continue to help us in
many ways. The Invalid Children's Aid Association, of which Committee both
Tuberculosis Officers are members, has sent quite a large number of our so-called
pre-tuberculous children to convalescent homes either at the seaside or in the
country. The Charity Organisation Society have helped with dentures, surgical
instruments and clothing, and have frequently found suitable accommodation
for the children while their mothers are receiving institutional treatment. The
.Soldiers' and Sailors' Families' Association also provides accommodation for
children during the absence of the mother, and gives monetary help in the case
of ex-soldiers who are not in receipt of a pension. The Victoria Park Hospital
has also sent quite a number of our children to their convalescent home at
Saunderton, where they have all been very happy, and have done extremely
weß.
Apart from institutional and dispensary treatment another method at our
disposal for the treatment of children is the Stormont House Open Air School,
situated on Hackney Downs. In this case, however, the child must be a notified
case of tuberculosis, either pulmonary or non-pulmonary. Both sexes are
admitted, and the ages range from 7 to 16. The school was opened in 1919,
and there are now 87 children on the roll, with an average attendance of 74.
During the year 28 children were admitted, 15 were discharged as fit for work,
and 8 had improved to such an extent as to justify their transfer to the ordinary
elementary school. The school is always full, and there is a short waiting list.
Formerly cases were admitted from other boroughs, but at present all the
children come from Hackney, Bethnal Green, and Stoke Newington, and are
recommended for admission either from the Metropolitan Hospital or the Victoria
Park Hospital Dispensaries. The classes are held in the open air, special shelters
being provided in the grounds for this purpose. Ample indoor accommodation
is available in bad weather, but it has rarely been found necessary to make use
of this, even in midwinter, except during dense fogs. Hot midday meals are
provided at a nominal fee, while in the case of necessitous children no charge is
made. Records of weight, temperature, etc., are kept by the nurse, who visits
the school daily, while the Medical Officer makes frequent examinations of the
children, and supervises the exercise and rest of each child. The children soon
get acclimatised to the open-air conditions and are perfectly happy, while the
benefit to their health is most marked.
The scheme introduced by the London County Council in 1922 for reducing
the number of children attending the Tuberculosis Dispensaries is being carried
out. All contacts who are probably non-tuberculous, or who after a period of