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The standard of shoe fitting for children varied from
shop to shop, but on the whole was inadequate. The Shop
Assistants were usually trained by the Manager, and in
only 4 shops was the training done by the firm making the
shoes None of the assistants attended a shoe fitting
course as provided by a Technical College Eight shops
admitted to allowing untrained assistants to fit children's
shoes at busy periods The few shops that employed an
x-ray machine found it of little value in shoe fitting.
The overlip of price ranges clearly demonstrated that
all well designed children's shoes could be multifitting,
and yet reasonably priced
Foot Inspection - Defects
Total number examined ll,184
Referred to Medical Officer 297
Referred to Chiropodist 105 .9%
Verrucae 96 .8%
Defective shoes 1,840 16,4%
Everted Ankles 202 1,8%
Hallux Valgus 2;385 21.2%
Tinea 172 1.5%
Number of children treated by
the two chiropodists 635
ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC
Mr, J.A. Cholmeley, the Orthopaedic Consultant reports:-
During 1959 there has been no reduction in the atten
dances at the Ealing Orthopaedic Clinic either for exam
ination or treatment, although there are no longer the
number of fresh cases of poliomyelitis that used to occur
only a few years ago.
Of the new cases seen during the year over a third
have been concerned with the feet of school children
some, but by no means all. are related to ill fitting and
bad design of shoes There has been a recent outcry in
the medical press on the type of shoes worn by the adoles
cent girl Some of those attending the Orthopaedic Clinic
wear shoes that are too narrow, too short and too pointed
but many adolescent girls have feet adult size and can
only get the adult type of shoe Apart from this they
often dress like young adults and wish to wear a corres
ponding type of shoe similar to their mothers, many of
whom must therefore share the blame. The young man of
to-day is now taking to the pointed shoe and it will be