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facilitates the work of the department, and the generous supply of
dressing-rooms enables men and women to be seen in their turn
in the order of their arrival at the Dispensary, while it obviates
the necessity of separate sessions for the two sexes.
We are fortunate at this Dispensary in that we are able to
refer cases to the various departments of the Hospital for special
opinions. This facility is of inestimable value, as it enables us to
investigate all cases with little loss of time, while it provides
opportunities of personal consultations with the specialists concerned.
The Physicians, the Surgeons, the Laryngologist and the Dentist
are frequently consulted, while the Pathologist kindly undertakes
elaborate investigations which cannot be dealt with in our own laboratory.
The use of X-rays has become a matter of routine in difficult
cases, and facilities are provided for patients to be X-rayed
during the session.
The various charitable organizations in the district continue to
help us in many ways, and we appreciate their support. The
Invalid Children's Aid Association, of which Committee both
Tuberculosis Officers are members, has sent quite a large number
of our delicate children to convalescent homes either at the seaside
or in the country. The Charity Organization Society has provided
dentures, surgical instruments and clothing, and has frequently
found accommodation for children while their mothers are receiving
institutional treatment. The United Services Fund also provides
accommodation for the children of ex-Service men, and gives monetary
help to the families of those that are disabled.
The successful treatment of children in open-air schools is
further recognized by the opening of additional schools in London
during the year. In addition to the successful part they play in
treatment, they also relieve pressure on the sanatorium beds, as
quite a number of our children now recommended for these schools
would formerly have been recommended institutional treatment.
Stormont House School on Hackney Downs has accommodation
for 75 children, which appears to be sufficient for the three
Boroughs it serves, namely, Hackney, Bethnal Green and Stoke
Newington, as the waiting list is never a long one.
The school admits both pulmonary and non-pulmonary cases
of Tuberculosis of either sex, the ages ranging from six to sixteen
years. The improvement in the children after only a short period
at such a school, not only as regards their general health, but more
particularly in their obviously happier mental state, is often remarkable.
I could not convince myself that this was entirely due to the
change of environment, and I therefore interviewed the parents in a
number of cases in order to get their views on the subject. The
type of child admitted to Stormont House is usually backward from
an educational standpoint compared with the average child of his