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suggested later by the Board of Education. This modification was
that a Surgeon from the Orthopaedic Hospital should visit the
Clinic once a month to examine the children and advise as regards
further operative and remedial treatment. The cost of this addition
was estimated to be £3 3s. Od. each month or £34 13s. Od. in the year
"Report to the General Purposes Education Sub-Committee.
Physically Defective Children."
"As requested, I have considered the question of evolving a
scheme by which treatment at the National Orthopaedic Hospital,
Great Portland Street and Stanmore, may be made available for
all physically defective children attending the public elementary
schools.
"At present the treatment of physically defective childrenis
haphazard and irregular. In some instances a mother may take
her child at an early age to a suitable hospital and attend for
treatment regularly as advised by the surgeon, but usually what
happens is that the child is taken to hospital too late to obtain the
best results, the attendance is not regular and the child may remain
away from school for long periods out of control and suffering
educationally.
"In a suitable scheme the object is to get the crippled child
under proper treatment at the earliest possible opportunity, to see
that the child attends hospital when requested to do so and to
make the after-treatment, including massage, which is all important
as readily available as possible,
"The scheme suggested is that cases should be referred by the
School Medical Officer to the National Orthopaedic Hospital,
Great Portland Street. A report on each case would be forwarded
from the hospital to the School Medical Officer pointing out the
treatment advised. If an operation be required the child would
go to the Orthopaedic Hospital at Stanmore, where the necessary
surgical treatment would be given and where the child's education
would be continued under special teachers— a very essential part
of the scheme. When no operation is called for and massage is
necessary, this would be given at the School Clinic by a specially
trained nurse sent down from the National Orthopaedic Hospital.
This nurse would not only give massage treatment but would be