View report page

29
treatment centres such ailments are more conveniently dealt with in the minor
ailment departments. The number of cases dealt with in the eye departments
during the year was 39,450, including a number of eye diseases cases estimated at
about 2,000.
The number of cases in which spectacles were prescribed was 28,827, and
spectacles were obtained in 26,569 cases, a percentage of 92 • 2. Increased provision
for the training of children suffering from strabismus has been made during the year.
Prior to 1935 special attention was given to squint cases at the Belgrave hospital,
Royal Eye hospital, and at the Paddington centre. During the year three additional
centres were arranged at St. Mary's hospital and at the Lewisham and Whitechapel
centres. The training of children to obtain single binocular vision with proper
fusion is very often a long process, and requires the regular attendance of the
children with persistence in endeavour. Dr. Victoria Brander, who is in charge of
the squint training at the Whitechapel centre, reports that with the use of the
synoptophore and variable prism stereoscope very satisfactory results are being
obtained, the children have maintained their interest and the parents are co-operating
well in the training.
Ear, nose and
throat.
The number of ear, nose and throat cases treated during the year has increased
slightly on the number dealt with during 1934. During 1935, 12,766 cases were
seen and 9,037 operations were performed compared with 12,622 and 8,860 respectively
during the year 1934. Of the 9,037 operation cases, 7,940 were for both
tonsils and adenoids, 649 for enlarged tonsils only, and 422 for adenoid growth
only. The remaining 26 cases were mainly operations in which cauterisation was
necessary.
Ringworm.
The incidence of ringworm of the head amongst the school children is now of
comparatively rare occurrence. During the year, 120 cases were dealt with, of
which 110 were treated by X-rays, compared with 195 cases (118 X-rays) during
the year 1934. A skeleton service is maintained at 5 hospitals and 5 centres in
various districts of London, so that cases may be dealt with expeditiously when they
arise.
Minor
ailments.
The number of minor ailments cases dealt with at the treatment centres during
the year was 117,140, including 14,537 cases seen by the nurses only, compared with
114,809 and 13,087 during the year 1934. The total number of attendances made
was 1,370,022. These figures do not include children treated for scabies and ringworm,
who appear, however, in the total given under " minor ailments " in table 12.
Special consideration has been given during the year to the question of the provision
of nutritives and tonics to children treated in the minor ailments departments.
Children attending these departments mainly suffer from minor complaints of the
eyes, ears and skin, etc., which require the daily attention of a trained nurse, and
many of them, especially those excluded from school, need nutritives and tonics
such as cod liver oil, malt and iron salts to correct deficiencies in diet, which
so often promote chronicity of skin eruptions and external eye diseases. Arrangements
have, therefore, been made at the centres for suitable nutritives and tonics
to be supplied at the discretion of the minor ailments doctors, free of charge to the
children.
Dental
treatment.
There are 69 dental centres included in the Council's scheme, as well as the
experimental centre at the Berkshire Road school (undertaken without cost to the
Council by the Manor Charitable Trust for the special benefit of the children attending
the school). Dental inspections are held in the schools by the 70 part-time inspecting
dental surgeons, of whom 14 are women, and 2,641 sessions were devoted to the wort
during the year. Prior to 1st April, 1935, it was the general practice to except
from dental inspection those children of the three age groups medically inspected
by the school doctors. It has been decided in principle that children of all ages
in the schools should be subject to inspection by the inspecting dentists, but it was
found that the administrative difficulty and cost of including the children of the
age groups 7-8 years, 11 years, and entrants and leavers at the same time would be
considerable, so it was decided to implement the arrangement gradually. It was