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THE HEALTH OF BARKING
Ophthalmic Service.
Your ophthalmic service is an important one to which your consultant surgeon
devotes four sessions each week.
The majority of cases seen are school children and there is a special clinic for
those who suffer from squint.
I must record with regret the resignation of Mr. W. A. Gray, your Consultant
Ophthalmic Surgeon, who has gone to Canada. He served the people of Barking
very faithfully and they, for their part, had a warm feeling for him. In his place,
it is a pleasure to welcome Mr. J. E. M. Ayoub, F.R.C.S., Assistant Ophthalmic
Surgeon to the London Hospital.
Statistics relating to this service will be found in Appendix B, Tables XII and
XIII.
Orthopaedic Service,
Your orthopaedic service, as I reported last year, continues to be restricted
by reason of shortage of staff despite repeated advertising. This has meant that
we have not been able to send physiotherapists out to do domiciliary work. Those
too severely crippled by rheumatism and other complaints to leave their own homes
would greatly benefit had we sufficient staff to do treatments in the home. Again
we have not yet found it possible to spare a physiotherapist to teach relaxation to
ante-natal mothers.
On the other hand a rather special effort has been started during the year to
re-educate children born with cerebral palsy. For the best results we must learn to
diagnose this condition much earlier than has been the case in the past and start
intensive treatment before deformity becomes apparent. We have in Barking
10 children attending Faircross Special School with this disease. There seems to
be a belief that the number of these children in the country as a whole who are
educable is very small. I write this to suggest that the number of oducable
'spastics' may not be so small as is generally thought and that with early
ascertainment and intense physiotherapy it may become greater in the future.
Post-natal cases continue to receive a course of exercises and, where appropriate,
electrical treatment. This is proving a great help in preventing backache flat feet
and other conditions which so often follow pregnancy unless suitable action is taken.
Statistics in relation to the work of this service are given in Appendix B.
Tables VI and VII.
Paediatric Clinic.
Dr. A. Doyne Bell, M.R.C.P., D.C.H., is your consultant children's physician
and difficult cases are referred by your medical officers to him. He is also available
for domiciliary consultation if necessary.
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