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of elementary school children. Section 2 (1) (b) of the Education Act, 1918, made
this optional power a duty as regards elementary school children, and Section 18
extended the optional power to include the provision of facilities for treatment in
respect of children attending any school or educational institution whether aided or
not by the local authority. These requirements were later incorporated in the
consolidating Education Act of 1921. The London County Council has made arrangements
for the medical and dental treatment of scholarship holders at secondary
and trade schools, and has extended the facilities to fee-paving pupils subject to
the actual cost of treatment being recovered. The average cost of treatment during
the current year was : Adenoids and enlarged tonsils 10s. 10d., minor ailments
7s. 7d., dental treatment 7s., and X-ray treatment of ringworm 25s. 7d. The charge
made to parents of elementary school children and scholarship holders is 2s. for each
major ailment, and 1s. for continuous treatment of a minor ailment after the completion
of a fortnight's free treatment. Necessitous children are treated free.
A development of the medical treatment scheme not foreseen at its inception is the
use of the dental centres by schools for mothers and infant welfare centres. Although
the Council is in no way responsible for the work done in this way the associated
use of the centre is of material benefit to all concerned in the larger issues of the
public health service. A further development on somewhat more advanced lines
is the provision of in-patient treatment for children requiring surgical aid for enlarged
tonsils and adenoids. There are at present two such centres, situated in Highgate
and Woolwich respectively. Two others are to be opened shortly.
In the early part of 1921. arrangements were made with the Metropolitan
Asylums Board whereby the Board kindly offered, free of cost to the Council, treatment
at the Board's residential school situated at White Oak, Swanley, for prolonged
periods of children suffering from infective ophthalmia. The children are lodged
in separate cottages under a house mother, they are well fed, clothed and educated,
in addition to receiving skilled medical attention for their particular ailment. The
children return looking fit and well, and many parents have expressed their gratitudeat
having their children returned to them so much improved. The parents or
guardians are assessed according to their means to pay a weekly charge for maintenance,
but the maximum charge as at present fixed is only 8s. 9d. per week. During
1925 the provision for treatment was extended to cases of interstitial keratitis. Since
1921, 718 children, including 257 cases of trachoma, have been sent to White Oak,
and the arrangement was found to be specially useful in 1924, when there was a
somewhat extensive outbreak of trachoma in the east end of London.
Similar arrangements have been made with the Metropolitan Asylums Board
for mastoid operations at Downs Children's Hospital, and more recently for the
treatment of cases of encephalitis lethargica at Winchmore Hill.
As already mentioned, there were in January, 1910, only 7 hospitals providing
for 12,700 children. In January, 1913, there were 12 hospitals and 17 treatment
centres providing for 73,000 children. Throughout the difficulties of the war period
the scheme still extended its ramifications until in January, 1919, there were 11
hospitals and 43 centres providing for more than 160,000 children.
At the end of 1925, there were 13 hospitals and 60 centres in addition to the
dental centre at Bushy Camp School. The provision made for the several ailments
and the numbers treated during the year (the latter shown in brackets) were, eyes,
34,630 (36,356); ear, nose and throat, 13,250 (15,066); ringworm, 1,752 (1,167);
minor ailments, 65,890 (88,447); dental ailments, ] 15,830 (112,964). Total 231,352
(254,000). It will be observed that the numbers treated exceed the numbers under
agreement except as regards ringworm and teeth.
It is to be expected with the present method of treatment that there should
be a rapid decline in ringworm. As regards minor ailments, it will be seen that the
numbers treated are 34 per cent. in excess of the numbers under agreement.