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school at Sutton, Surrey, for children suffering from ringworm and other contagious
diseases of the skin, and three seaside homes. At all of these education was given.
One of the two ophthalmia schools—the one at Brentwood—was found in
1918 to be in excess of requirements owing to the steady decline which had occurred
in the number of cases requiring treatment, and it has therefore since been used for
other purposes (children suffering from tuberculosis and from rheumatism).
For the same reason the ringworm school at Sutton was also found to provide
more accommodation than was needed, and was put to other uses. Since 1914
ringworm cases have been accommodated at Goldie Leigh hospital at Abbey Wood,
which was taken over from the Woolwich guardians for the purpose.
Queen Mary's hospital for children, Carshaiton, Surrey, also formed one of the
special hospitals for children belonging to the late Board. This hospital
was originally erected as a convalescent fever hospital, but as, in the meantime,
the resources it had been necessary for the Board to provide for smallpox had enabled
other accommodation to be liberated for convalescent fever cases, it was never used for
this purpose. Shortly before 1910 it was opened under the name of the Children's
Infirmary as a hospital for children requiring various kinds of medical or surgical
treatment. In 1911 Her Majesty the Queen graciously consented to the hospital
being styled, " Queen Mary's hospital for children." In 1930 the accommodation
was 900 beds, and extensions were in course of erection which have since increased
the accommodation to 1,284 beds. This hospital now contains the largest physically
defective school of the Council, with a staff of about 35 teachers.
The Council has appropriated all the special hospitals for public health purposes,
and has thereby removed them from the category of poor-law establishments.
The organised treatment of tuberculosis on an extensive scale is a development
which has taken place entirely during the period under review. With the passing
of the National Health Insurance Act in 1911, the establishment of sanatoria for
the treatment of tuberculosis was begun by the late Board. Certain of the then
existing establishments of the Board, or portions of them, were used for the purpose,
and, as the scheme for the treatment of the disease developed, other hospitals were
acquired or erected. One of the new hospitals erected, which was completed in 1919,
was at Margate, and included within its curtilage one of the three seaside homes
above referred to. His Majesty the King was graciously pleased to command
that the new hospital should be styled, " Princess Mary's hospital for children,
Margate."
The Council is now able to accommodate in its own special hospitals and sanatoria
about 2,300 tuberculous patients.
There were other special diseases for which the late Board had provided
accommodation, such as venereal diseases in girls and in parturient women, and
ophthalmia neonatorum.
All these services have been taken over, continued and developed by the Council.
The number of admissions to the special hospitals for 1910 and 1934 are as
follows :—
1910. 1931.
Fever and smallpox hospitals 15,248 53,577
Children's hospitals and homes 5,170 7,519
Tuberculosis hospitals None 4,516
Others None 847
20,418 66,459
There is one other special branch of work to which attention must be called,
and that is the work of the laboratories. Two central research and pathological
laboratories were established by the late Board for the special hospitals, and at
these laboratories highly specialised work was carried out, including the preparation
and supply of media and other material required for use in the various hospitals
of the Board. Since the transfer of the services to the Council in 1930, the work
has greatly increased, and the Council has provided five additional group
laboratories and a histological laboratory so as to meet the needs not only of the
special hospitals, but also of the general hospitals.