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33
During 1930, 356 children were discharged from hospital (Carshalton 136,
Brentwood 220), and 210 of these were examined at County Hall; 102 were considered
to be physically fit for the full curriculum of an elementary school with the exception
of swimming ; 61 were permitted to attend an elementary school, but drill and
games were forbidden ; 43 were certified for schools for physically defective children,
and 4 were held to be temporarily unfit for attendance at any school.
Children
discharged
from
Carshalton
and
Brentwood.
Of the 324 cases admitted during the year to Queen Mary's Hospital or High
Wood Hospital, 18 had previously received hospital treatment under the scheme (six
boys and 12 girls). Their condition on re-admission was:—
Rheumatic fever with heart disease 2
Sub-acute rheumatism 3
„ „ with heart disease 3
Chorea 5
„ with heart disease 5
18
Relapsed
cases.
One girl with rheumatic carditis and one girl with chorea had been twice previously
in hospital under the scheme.
How far rheumatism affects the young person after leaving school is being
investigated by the school care committees, as stated earlier in the report. Fifty-one
questionnaires were sent out concerning children treated at Carshalton or Brentwood
in 1926, 1927 and 1929, the children treated in these years being chosen so that the
work of tracing those treated in the early days of the scheme should be begun, and a
start also made with following-up, immediately on their leaving school, rheumatic
children treated in hospital more recently. Of these 51 children, 2 had left London.
After-care
"following-
up."
The returns for the others (22 boys and 27 girls) are shown in the table below:—
Left
school 1
year or
less.
Left
school
more
than 1
year.
Left
school
more
than 2
years.
No. who had
further
attacks of
rheumatism
or chorea.
No. who had
received
hospital
in-patient
treatment
since leaving
school.
No. who
were
under
medical
supervision.
No. who
were able to
keep
employment
selected
on leaving
school.
No. who had
to leave
employment
because of
rheumatic
handicap.
No. who
were
incapable
of regular
work.
(a)
(6)
(C)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
19
14
16
18
9
13
36
8
5
The nature of the employment in which the 36 children (shown in column (g))
had been engaged since leaving school, was as follows:—
Girls—Clerical work 4
Boxmaking 1
Packing 2
Boys.—Parcel and message delivery 6
Domestic service 1
Tailoring 1
Work on railway 1
Needlework 3
Sweetmaking 1
Factory work 1
Plumbing 1
Packing 2
Sign writing 1
Waiting 2
Work in retail trades 4
Bootmaking 1
Carpentry 2
Printing 1
Hairdressing 1
The above is an indication of the information which is being obtained in this
new extension of the scheme's work. With a larger number of returns it will be
possible to form some idea of the extent to which the rheumatic child is handicapped
after leaving school, and as to how far the parents make use of other facilities for
treating rheumatism when their children have passed out of the care of the school
medical service.
The number of children on the rheumatism register had attained the figure of
16,911 at the end of 1930. Of these 16,326 (6,421 boys and 9,905 girls) are under the
age of 16 and come within the scope of the rheumatism scheme. The distribution of
Distribution
of children on
rheumatism
register
throughout
metropolitan
boroughs.
d