View report page

109
Dispensaries. The classes are held in the open air in special shelters provided
in the grounds, but ample indoor accommodation is available in bad
weather. Hot mid-day meals are provided at a nominal fee, while in the
case of necessitous children no charge is made.
The Dispensary Nurse visits the school daily and keeps records of
temperatures and weights, etc., while she also supervises the cleanliness of
the children, arranging for weekly hot baths for those requiring them. The
Tuberculosis Officer visits the school weekly, making frequent examinations
of the children, and supervises the rest and exercise of each individual child.
All the children have done well and the school maintains its popularity
in the district, being always full.
During the year 11 children were discharged as fit for work, and 9 had
improved to such an extent as to justify their transfer to the; ordinary
elementary school.
Formerly it was the custom of the L.C.C. to send all the children from
the school desiring it to the seaside for two weeks during the summer. During
the past year, however, the Council were unable to do this, so the
Invalid Children's Aid Association, who can always be relied upon to help
in cases of emergency, came to our rescue and arranged for varying periods
of convalescence for those children urgently needing it.
For those patients whose financial circumstances and clinical condition
warrant it, we are still empowered under the Borough scheme to recommend
grants for additional diet. This diet takes the form of milk and
eggs, and is particularly useful to those patients who, on leaving sanatorium,
are unable to provide suitable nourishment for themselves pending their return
to work. The number receiving such benefit is necessarily small, as the
expenditure sanctioned must not exceed £2 per 1,000 of the population.
As stated in last year's report, the results of treatment by artificial
sunlight were not so encouraging as we had been led to expect. One or
two of our patients may have improved slightly under treatment, but the
majority showed no obvious benefit. The treatment has been almost entirely
limited to cases of glandular enlargement in children, and as in the
majority of instances this entails daily attendance at the Hospital, the numbers
are necessarily small, as it is often difficult for mothers to give up so
much of their time for the purpose of accompanying their children.
It is generally recognized that the best results are obtained in Lupus,
certain skin conditions, rickets, superficial lesions, and surgical Tuberculosis,
etc., and as the numbers of such cases we are called upon to treat are few,
our experience must be regarded as restricted; but it suffices to show that
ultra-violet light cannot be regarded as a "specific" for every type of
disease, and that it must be used with discretion.
The scheme inaugurated by the L.C.C. in 1922 for the purpose of reducing
the number of children attending the Tuberculosis Dispensaries is
still in operation. All non-tubercular contacts, and other children whose
health is regarded as unsatisfactory, are referred to the School Medical Department
for observation. The Tuberculosis Officer sends a special report
on each case to the School Medical Officer, who arranges for periodic examination,
weighing, etc. Should the School Medical Officer later suspect
Tuberculosis in any of these children the case is immediately referred back