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59
Many of these cases attended on several occasions; for instance, at Prince of
Wales Road there were over 33,000 attendances in the minor ailment department, and at
Lancing Street over 31 ,000.
In addition to this, many hundreds of home visits were paid by the nurses of the
Central St. Pancras District Nursing Association.
A very important feature of the work at both Centres is the operative treatment of
enlarged tonsils and adenoids, and other throat, nose, and ear conditions. The operations
are performed under a general anaesthetic, and after a suitable interval the child is sent
home, and subsequently visited for a few days by a nurse, and, if necessary, by the doctor
in charge of the case. If any complication occurs, subsequent to the operation, the
child is detained at the Centre for the night. From time to time an anxious case
necessarily occurs, but fortunately since their inception no fatal case has occurred at
either Centre. This year a new development has occurred at the Prince of Wales Road
Centre, the Council having entered into an agreement for the treatment of 5,000 cases of
children with verminous heads. To enable the Centre to do th's work a central water
heating system has been installed, special shampoo basins and a head drying apparatus
fixed. This has cost a considerable sum of money, towards which the Council made a
grant of £100. Needless to say, the grant did not nearly cover the cost entailed. Two
women are fully engaged in carrying on this work, under the supervision of a nurse,
which consists in thoroughly shampooing the children's heads with a special vermicidal
soap, thoroughly combing out the dead nits with special combs, and then thoroughly
drying the head. After this the child's head is minutely inspected, the standard aimed
at being the absence of a single nit.
In view of the prevalence of this distressing condition in so many children
attending the Council's schools, the evil effects on their general health, and the many
complications it so often leads to, this work appears to be very valuable, and we hope
will be more and more appreciated, and lead to a higher standard of cleanliness in the
children's homes.
I wish again to express my appreciation of the good work of the doctors at these
Centres, local medical practitioners, and also of the County Council nurses who are in
charge of the work, and to whom the good results are so largely due.
A. R. Roche,
Secretary and Superintendent.
The number of home visits made by the nurses in connection with the school clinics
during the year 1920 was 530 from the Prince of Wales Road Centre, and 442 from the
Lancing Street Centre. These were made by the Central St. Pancras District Nursing
Association.
Section V —FOOD.
(a) MILK SUPPLY.
Almost the whole of the milk supply of St. Pancras is derived from dairy farms in the
provinces and is brought into London by train. A great deal of milk also comes into the
great railway stations in the Borough for distribution in other parts of London.
In February, March, and April, 1920, 50 samples of milk were taken in the Borough
and submitted for bacteriological examination to Dr. F. H. Teale, of University College
Hospital. The samples were taken by the Food Inspectors, Messrs Auger and Child, and fall