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67
The service is indebted to the children's care organisation and the numerous
voluntary workers connected with it for their unstinting efforts at following-up
the cases. Ignorance and apathy on the part of the parents are still the chief
hindrances to fully successful work. The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to
Children give very valuable assistance in dealing with intractable cases of neglect.
In the annual report of the Society for 1921-22 special attention is drawn to the
activities of the London Medical Branch which dealt with 804 children. The
Society's ambulance has proved of considerable assistance in conveying children
for treatment who otherwise would fail to obtain it.
Very encouraging is the growing appreciation on the part of the hospitals of
the aid which is available through the school care organisation in the following-up
and ancillary treatment necessary for the cure of their child patients.
A special arrangement exists at Guy's hospital by which assistant
organisers of children's care work attend in the ear, nose and throat, orthopaedic,
eye and skin departments to follow-up the children attending the elementary
schools, and to help to obtain their regular attendance.
During 1922 in the ear, nose and throat department 2,521 children were
followed-up, of these 477 had operations for the removal of tonsils and adenoids,
and other cases were admitted to the wards for various operations on the ear, nose
and throat.
The 391 children attending in the orthopaedic department are under Care
Committee supervision. Many of these are referred by the surgeon for treatment
in the massage and electrical departments, and, as a result of supervision, attend
with fair regularity.
1,611 children attended the eye department during the year ; 949 were tested
for vision ; 90 were found not to require glasses, and of the remaining 859 for whom
glasses were ordered, 809 children are known to have obtained them.
In the skin department 1,707 children attended, of these 186 being cases of
ringworm of the head. The number of children attending this department suffering
from scabies has considerably decreased, only 94 cases being recorded, against 263
in 1921.
In addition to the work in these departments, by the co-operation of the
almoner, many enquiries concerning children attending in other departments of the
hospital have been made. It has thus been possible to inform the Care Committee
with regard to the doctor's instructions as to treatment and school attendance.
Medical treatment.
At the end of 1922 the treatment scheme included 13 hospitals, 55 treatment
centres and the dental centre at Bushy Park Camp School. These 68 centres had
accommodation for the treatment annually of 209,158 children, the arrangements
including the following ailments: eye, 32,310; ear, nose and throat, 16,150;
ringworm, 2,628 ; minor ailments, 52,690 ; teeth, 105,380. As from the 1st April,
1922, certain modifications were made in the remuneration of the medical and
dental staff at the hospitals and treatment centres. The Council has decided that
for the next financial year the allowance made to local nursing associations for the
equivalent of a full-time nurse shall be adjusted in accordance with reduction of
the bonus addition on the salaries scales ; and, further, that the special maintenance
grants to hospital and treatment centre committees, which were granted
at the time when the cost of living figures were at their highest, shall be reduced
by 50 per cent.
(a) Minor ailments.-74,467 children received treatment for minor ailments,
71,478 of these coming under the Council's scheme, being 3,195 more than in the
previous year. The number of attendances made at the treatment centres amounted
to the large total of 1,292,929. In addition 3,944 cases of scabies were treated at
the cleansing stations. 131 cases of chronic external eye disease were sent by the