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85
After an interval of about a month visits have been paid
to the homes to ascertain what steps the parents have taken to
carry out the directions, and still further urge the need of
obtaining suitable spectacles.
Cases of external eye disease such as blepharitis or conjunctivitis
are treated by the School Nurse under the supervision
of the S.M.O. only in those instances where the parents
are obviously too poor to obtain medical treatment elsewhere.
It will be noticed that 54 children have obtained
spectacles. In those cases where the parents are too poor to
provide glasses for the children the expenses are defrayed out
of the grant of £50 made by the Urban District Council for
this purpose. In most instances the cost is recovered from the
parents in small weekly payments (out of 18 cases thus
arranged only seven have been unable to pay anything). It is
found that more care is taken of the spectacles if the parents
have contributed towards them. For instance, in one case
where expensive glasses were necessary, and had been wholly
provided by the Council, on a further medical examination it
was found that one of the lenses was so scratched as to be
valueless. This had been done by another child who had
worn the glasses in play. The head teacher reported that the
educational improvement both in reading and writing had
been marked since the child had worn glasses.
It is exceedingly difficult to persuade parents to persevere
in taking children to hospitals, and it is impossible to provide
suitable glasses on one visit. Those who have failed to carry
out instructions number 5.5%. These parents have been
repeatedly visited, and usually promise to use the hospital
letters given, but fail to carry out their promises, although it
is explained to them that the cost of the glasses is defrayed in
necessary cases.
There is often much ignorance and apathy displayed—
hospital letters are carelessly lost, and in one case the parents