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34
at the Royal Waterloo hospital during part of the year and extra sessions have been
provided at the Hammersmith centre to cope with the growing attendance at this
centre. It must be remembered that the children attending rheumatism supervisory
centres do so for a lengthy period; and, in a comparatively new scheme, the
children who were attending the centres in former years are still attending, whilst
each year many children recently attacked by rheumatism are added to the numbers
on the roll of the centres. During the past year 4,538 children attended the sixteen
centres now distributed through the administrative county; these children made
12,883 attendances and there were amongst them 2,001 children attending for the
first time.
The work of the individual centres is analysed in the subjoined table:—
Name of rheumatism
supervisory centre.
Number of
children
attending
during
1932.
Number of
new
cases.
Attendances
of
old
cases.
Total
attendances.
Average
number
per
session.
No. of
children
from the
centre who
received
hospital
treatment
or convalescence
under
rheumatism
scheme.
Downham
297
105
473
578
13
27
" Elizabeth Bullock "
258
103
469
572
13.3
22
Eltham
138
109
242
351
9
18
Hammersmith
291
150
491
641
16
14
Hospital for sick children
(Gt.Ormond-street)
488
191
1,959
2,150
7.1
15
King's College hospital
281
134
876
1,010
23
9
Lewisham
276
139
407
546
12.1
22
Princess Elizabeth of
York hospital (Shadwell)
340
140
514
654
15.9
48
Putney
136
80
176
256
12.8
17
Queen's hospital for
children
598
157
1,327
1,484
30
31
Royal Free hospital
286
146
1,051
1,197
26.6
21
Royal Waterloo hospital
577
224
1,780
2,004
24.7
15
St. George's hospital
178
105
286
391
9.3
2
St. Marylebone general
dispensary
105
42
434
476
10
4
Stoke Newington
82
82
164
246
7.2
1
Woolwich
207
94
233
327
8
9
Total
4,538
2,001
10,882
12,883
—
275
Education
of myopes.
Special inquiries.
Dr. E. M. McVail has written the following report upon the special classes for
myopic children in central schools:—
Two classes for myopes were opened in April, 1928, one at the Ensham central school
and the other at the Hugh Myddelton central school. Both classes are mixed, and with
occasional exceptions the maximum roll is in each case 22, allowing an average attendance of
20. It is now possible to report with some assurance on the results of these classes.
At the Ensham central school the special classroom for myopes is within the central school
premises on an upper floor, and is light, airy and furnished with special appliances for the
short-sighted.
Information as to the children's scholastic work has been taken largely from notes very
kindly supplied by the head master.
Boys and girls attend the ordinary central school classes, and are arranged in five groups
according to the year in which they are working. Unlike the ordinary central school pupils,
they return to their own classroom, where they have supervision by a special teacher, for periods
of rest from close work, and for " home work " under sight-saving conditions.
Certain children are allowed by the school oculist to read books with clear print for short
and stated periods, the time varying in each case according to the condition of the eyes. Others
with worse defect are, for a quarter of an hour twice a day, allowed to read notes made by the
touch method with a " Bulletin " typewriter. "At least one text book has been copied in this