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Council to the home at Swanley under the facilities accorded by the Metropolitan
Asylums Board.
(b) Visual defect.—32,752 children were submitted for refraction under the
Council's scheme. Spectacles were prescribed in 24,407 cases, and of these 21,266
obtained them. The numbers referred and the numbers for whom spectacles were
prescribed were practically identical with the numbers in the previous year, but an
improvement of 3.5 per cent. is to be noted in the cases known to have obtained
spectacles. That 87 per cent. of the children requiring spectacles are known to
have procured them is very satisfactory, especially when it is considered that no
part of the cost of provision of spectacles falls upon the education rate.
(c) Nasal and aural disease.—13,001 children were referred for treatment by
the school doctors (compared with 18,463 in the previous year), 10,525 children
received treatment, of whom 8,720 were treated under the Council's scheme. 6,430
operations for enlarged tonsils and adenoids were carried out at the Council's centres
and hospitals. This is a verv considerable reduction in the numbers dealt with.
Dr. Wells'
report on
ear disease
and ionisation.
Dr. Wells has continued his work at special inspection centres for children with
ear diseases. 1,113 children have been seen by him. 939 children were found
requiring continued observation and were seen on an average four times in the year.
454 children (48.3 per cent.) were discharged as cured. This is a higher number
than in previous years, and Dr. Wells attributes the success mainly to the employment
of ionisation which effects a quick cure in suitable cases.
Of 155 children referred for ionisation concerning whom Dr. Wells has personal
notes, 126 or 81.3 per cent. were cured, 108 in one ionisation, 26 in two, 14 in three,
5 in four and 2 in five. The great majority are cleared up in a single visit. The
advance thus made over the other methods, which necessitated daily treatment
over many months with indifferent success, is thus marked.
As opportunity arises facilities are being extended for the treatment of children
with ear disease by the ionisation method which was introduced to the Council's
notice by Dr. Friel, who continues to carry out its application at the Cable Street
and Lissonia centres, where 227 children were treated. Omitting 31 children who
were lost sight of, out of the remaining 196, 127 were cured, 29 are still under treatment
and 40 were referred for mastoid operation, etc.; most of the latter were
suffering from involvement of the mastoid cells before reference to the centres. In
cases in which the sepsis was confined to the tympanic cavity 89 per cent. were
cured by ionisation.
In connection with the special arrangement for the treatment of mastoid cases
with the Metropolitan Asylums Board, supervised by Dr. Wells on the Council's
behalf, a change has occurred. The Cleveland Street Institution was abandoned
for this purpose and the children were transferred to Belmont. Dr. Wells reported
that 137 mastoid operations were performed and 129 were completely successful
representing the high percentage of 94. Dr. Wells attributes the highly successful
results of the operations to careful and efficient after-treatment, in which ionisation
has proved an important aid and was tried in all cases.
(d) Dental Disease—192,730 children were inspected by the school dentists,
an increase of 41,345 over the number seen in the previous year. As the system of
dental inspection extends and a large number of the children have already been submitted
to treatment, it is clear that the number of children who can be dealt with by
the inspecting dentist at his school visits is increased. The very large growth in the
numbers seen during the past year must be chiefly due to this but is also partly due
to substitutions of "inspecting" sessions for treatment sessions owing to shortage
of cases at the centres and to the necessity of spreading a wider net.
137,487 children were referred by the dental inspector for treatment. In
addition 60,550 children were referred by the school doctors. 84,848 children were
treated under the Council's scheme, a fdrop of about 9,000 below the figures of
the previous year. This is undoubtedly the most serious set-back experienced in the