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Longer periods of residential treatment may have played some part in this.
While, in 1927, 22.9 per cent. of patients received more than six months' residential
treatment, in 1932 the percentage receiving similar lengthy periods of treatment had
risen to 34.2 per cent. It is of interest to note in passing that the most recently
available comparable figure is 38.2 per cent. for 1938. Collapse therapy also must
account for a substantial degree of the improvement in ultimate results that is seen
to have taken place.

Boarding-out
scheme
During 1938, 267 children were boarded out and, at the end of the year, 143
children were still being maintained under this scheme. The corresponding figures
for 1937 were 253 boarded out and 143 still away at the end of the year.
Supply of
surgical
appliances
Tuberculosis patients attending the Council's after-care clinics are provided with
surgical appliances free of charge. The Invalid Children's Aid Association assisted,
in 35 instances, in providing children who do not attend the above-mentioned aftercare
clinics with surgical appliances after discharge from residential treatment.
The amounts paid in this connection were met from the "Tuberculosis Contributions
Fund" into which contributions made by parents towards the cost of their children's
residential treatment under the Council's tuberculosis scheme were paid prior to
1st April, 1925.
After-care
clinics for
non-
pulmonary
tuberculosis
Clinics for the after-care of ex-patients are held at County Hall by the medical
superintendents of three of the Council's tuberculosis hospitals, viz., St. Luke's
hospital, Lowestoft, for adults; the former Princess Mary's hospital, Margate;
and Heatherwood hospital, Ascot, for children. There is also an after-care department
at Queen Mary's Hospital for Children, Carshalton, for ex-patients of that
hospital. The number of attendances at the clinics during the year was 1,560.
Housing of
tuberculous
persons
As part of the Council s arrangements tor the care ot tuberculous persons,
special consideration is given to housing applications from families in which there
is a member suffering from tuberculosis. Where justified by the existing home conditions,
the Council's valuer is asked to give preference to such applications in the
allotment of vacancies on the Council's housing estates. During the year 1938
approximately 310 of the families who were given preferential consideration were
rehoused, compared with 261 in 1937.
Cases dealt
with by the
Council
Mental Deficiency Acts, 1913-38
On 31st December, 1938, 11,771 cases were being dealt with by the Council
under the provisions of the Mental Deficiency Acts, 1913-38. Of these, 7,215 were
in institutions, 450 under guardianship, 3,914 under supervision, 20 in places of
safety awaiting action, 68 awaiting institutional care and 104 under consideration.
During the year 1,151 cases were examined with the following results: feeble
minded, 879; imbecile, 152; idiot, 14; morally defective, 2; not defective, 104.
Blind Persons Acts, 1920 and 1938
Blind
persons
During the year, 1,663 applicants for registration or training under the
provisions of the Blind Persons Acts, 1920 and 1938, were examined by the Council's
ophthalmologists. Of these, 987 (450 male and 537 female) were certified as blind
and 676 (292 male and 384 female) were found not to be blind.