View report page

101
ment 2,122 new children attended. The number who underwent operations for
removal of tonsils or adenoids in the out-patient department was 487, and of the
total number of children attending 1,020 were discharged well, and 241 were reported
well by the care committees.
The number of school children who attended the diphtheria carrier clinic was 68
(total number of attendances, 446). In the skin department, 988 children attended—
54 of these were suffering from ringworm of the head, and 38 from scabies. In the
eye department, 1,587 children attended. A certain number of these was treated
for external eye diseases, but the total number tested for glasses was 1,258. Of
these, glasses were ordered for 960, the vision of 138 was found not to require correction,
and 160 were advised to continue wearing the same glasses.
The number of glasses known to have been obtained during the year is 929;
this of course, includes some which were ordered in 1926. Many reports on children
attending in other departments of the hospital have been obtained through the
almoner. These are for the information of the school doctors or care committees,
and are invaluable.
London
Hospital
Children's
department.
The remarkable extension during the year of the work by the formation of a
children's department at the London Hospital working in close relationship with the
school medical service, is described in the following paragraphs :
Council elementary school children attending this consultative department
are either referred through the receiving room, transferred from other departments, or
they come direct with a special card issued by the school doctor at medical inspections.
The number of appointments kept of those made under the special scheme has been
high, but should there be failures the care committee is notified, and a further
appointment offered. Very few of the cases definitely referred by the school doctor
fail to attend subsequently. For all cases sent under the special scheme the organiser
has a following-up card and this is presented to the treating doctor with the "folder"
or case paper which each child has in addition to his ordinary hospital "book."
Information with regard to income, number in family, etc., is obtained by the
representative of the Marie Celeste Samaritan Society, who is present at each session.
The "folder" is never seen by the patient or parent. Each patient is weighed on
every attendance, the medical history, diagnosis and prognosis of each case is entered
on the "folder" by the doctor.
The examination of each new case occupies from twenty minutes to half-an-hour.
It is usual for all Council school cases to be seen by Dr. Maitland-Jones or Dr.
Tallerman, his first assistant. At subsequent visits the children may be seen by
either of these or a clinical assistant. New cases attend on Tuesdays and Fridays,
old cases on Wednesdays, but special cases are also occasionally seen on Tuesdays
and Fridays. Old cases are graded to attend at intervals during Wednesday
mornings and everything possible is done to suit the convenience of the parents in
this matter. The organiser as far as possible is with the doctor during the examination
of each school child, but if more than one of our children is being examined at
the same time the doctor discusses the case later with the organiser and she always
has access to the "folders." The following-up work of this department has grown
rapidly. In addition to the routine notification to care committees of attendances,
failures and discharges, a good deal of special action has been necessary on cases,
and, with the co-operation of care committees, head teachers and class teachers, a
great deal has been done, especially on the "conduct" cases, enuresis cases and
where some modification of school curriculum has been advised. Transfers to other
departments also entail a great deal of cross reporting to other organisers in the office.
The session at hospital usually lasts from three to four hours and the organiser
is fully occupied during this time talking either to doctor or parents. The examination
in the children's department is most complete and includes test for albumen,
Wassermann and Yon Pirquet.