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79
school. Though any superfluous time can in most instances be
profitably spent in other ways, by the re-examination of special
children or in other investigations, the present system has the disadvantage
of reducing the average number of children inspected in
a school session.
After Easter, 1910, it is hoped that this difficulty will be met
by allotting definite days from Easter to the end of July to the
various schools in proportion to their number on the registers.
During the past year the ophthalmic surgeon has carried out his
work in the schools as heretofore. During the latter part of the
year the Council granted further office accommodation to the
Public Health Department, and it thus became possible to allot a
special suite of rooms for use in the examination of school children,
and from January, 1910, arrangements were made to modify the
work of the ophthalmic surgeon in accordance with the suggestions
made in previous reports to the Committee. All the schools in the
borough are now divided into two groups of about equal size. At
those nearest the Town Hall the preliminary examination of the
sight is made by the school medical officer or his assistant, and any
children requiring special examination by the ophthalmic surgeon
are referred to him at the Town Hall, where he is in attendance on
Tuesday mornings. Eye work in the more distant schools is carried
out by Mr. Wray as heretofore. Some of the details of administration
connected with this department of the school work are not yet
fully worked out, but the general features of the scheme prove
satisfactory. After twelve months' experience we shall probably be
able to decide whether it will be possible to get the children from
the more distant schools to attend the Town Hall or whether a
second centre should be established for the examination of the eyes
of children who live at a distance from the Town Hall.
OFFICE ACCOMMODATION.
The additional rooms allotted to the public health department
have given us very satisfactory accommodation for school
purposes, a suite of four rooms being specially set aside for this
purpose. The general arrangement of the rooms is shown on the
accompanying block plan. The rooms are situated in immediate
proximity to my own office, and have a separate entrance from
the street in Mint Walk, thus rendering it unnecessary for the
children to use the main entrances of the Town Hall.