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CHIROPODY
Chiropody treatment is provided free of charge for children attending maintained
schools in the London Borough of Ealing. Most children who require chiropody
treatment are suffering from verrucae. This condition is contagious but treatment
at a series of weekly visits is effective.
The application for treatment arises very largely from the foot health inspections
carried out at schools but a few cases are also referred by general practitioners and
parents.
Recruitment to the service does present problems and our present establishment
of four is filled by one full-time and seven part-time chiropodists.
Chiropodists are appointed by the Department for duties shared between both the
school clinics and clinics for the treatment of the aged and disabled patients.
Sessions for school children are held at Avenue Road Clinic on Thursday mornings,
Cherington House Clinic on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings, Greenford
Green Clinic on Thursday mornings, Mattock Lane Clinic on Tuesday afternoons,
Northcote Clinic on Thursday afternoons and Ravenor Park Clinic on Wednesday
afternoons.
During the year, there was a total attendance of 2,961, including 453 new cases.
THE ASTHMA CLINIC
This clinic was set up to provide advice and treatment for children suffering from
respiratory disease. A physiotherapist carries out weekly sessions at each of five
clinics distributed over the Borough, and a medical officer supervises the work and
examines the children on a rota of one clinic every month.
Children are referred by other medical officers, paediatricians or general
practitioners. Close liaison is maintained between doctors, parents and head teachers.
Many children develop respiratory symptoms in early infancy often in association
with the onset of teething. The consequent difficulty in breathing is one of the
most distressing things for parents to watch and patterns of over-anxiety may be
established early. Some children develop classic asthma/eczema syndrome in the
pre-school years and these can be helped by breathing exercises as young as three
years of age. The support and reassurance of the medical officer is helpful at this
stage. For most children, however, trouble begins when they start school and are
exposed to a new bacterial-viral environment. Explanations of the use and necessity
of the cough reflex are necessary, and advice is required on the balance between
coddling and over-exposure and between educational needs and the prevention of
spread of infection. Advice too on problems of education and future occupation
is given.
Many children require intensive indoctrination before they can break the habit of
breathing through their mouths, and others need help in mastering the art of blowing
their noses.
Exercises can be conducted in groups, or individually. All children are encouraged
to do their exercises regularly at home, but this requires constant reminders by both
the medical officer and the physiotherapist.
Respiratory disease is one of the commonest health hazards of adult life in this
country, and opportunities for health education on the effects of smoking will occur
in the course of treatment.
The nature of the disease processes of asthma is still imperfectly understood,
and research into the sex incidence of asthma and bronchitis has been undertaken
at the Asthma Clinic. The effects of such environmental factors as atmospheric
pollution and pollen count have also been studied.
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