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treatment at the National Orthopaedic Hospital and 68 were
advised massage and special exercises. The attendances for
massage or special exercises numbered 1,093. Three children were
supplied with surgical appliances which were ordered by the
Surgeon.
In addition to the school children, 91 children under five
years of age were submitted for a first examination by the Surgeon,
189 re-inspections being necessary. The attendances of those
requiring massage numbered 753. Six operations were advised
and three have been performed at the Hospital on children under
school age.
The fact that 91 children under school age came within the
scheme for the first time during the year indicates the success
of this form of treatment which depends mainly for its success on
the early ascertainment of the condition and on early treatment
with subsequent continuous supervision. The treatment in the
early years of life facilitates the completeness of the treatment
and lessens the attention required during school life. It is one of
the most heartening things about the scheme that the children
are being dealt with at the very earliest period when the crippling
is most amenable to remedial measures.
So great a demand on the accommodation available at the
Mattock Lane Centre has been made by the Orthopaedic Scheme
that a building of a semi-permanent type has had to be erected
behind the main building. This consists of a large room 30 ft.
x 20 ft., well lighted with dormer windows on the north and south
and with glazed doors along either side arranged in such a way
that they can be opened on to verandahs so that children receiving
massage or having physical exercises can do so in the open air but
under shelter. At one end of the hall is a doctor's room and a
waiting room with sanitary accommodation for staff and for
child ren.
It is interesting to visualise what has been done in the years
during which the scheme has been in operation and the following
account of work indicates the valuable results so far obtained.
The most interesting ana striking fact, however, is that since
the scheme has been in operation the number of crippled children
who are unfit to attend a public elementary school and who require
special educational facilities has decreased to one.