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SCHOOL HEALTH
Consultants holding local hospital appointments held sessions at Southbury
Clinic on alternate weeks and at Edmonton Central Clinic twice a month.
The consultant attending Edmonton Central Clinic retired at the end of the
year and it was reluctantly agreed, after representations from the Regional
Hospital Board, that sessions at that clinic be discontinued and the patients
asked to attend either Chase Farm Hospital or Highlands Hospital. Forty-eight
children attending the clinic were therefore referred for treatment at one of
these hospitals.
Ear, nose and
throat clinics
Three sessions each week continue to be held at Southbury Clinic, two a
week at Edmonton Central Clinic, and two every other week at Bowes Road
Clinic.
Ophthalmic clinics
Treatment continues, as in previous years, to be provided by a full-time
orthoptist attending the three ophthalmic clinics in the Borough and treating
those children referred to her by the ophthalmologists. Both pre-operative
and post-operative treatment is provided.
Orthoptic clinics
After last year's very high level of new referrals to this clinic the numbers
dropped considerably and as a result only seventeen sessions were held
during the year.
Foot deformities, knock knees, postural defects and suspected congenital
hip deformities in babies continued to be the main defects referred. Children
requiring physiotherapy attend hospital for this purpose.
Orthopaedic clinic
The services of a part-time physiotherapist continued to be available. Treatment
was given twice a week to children at Hazelbury Open-air School, and
at Durants and Waverley Schools for educationally subnormal children.
Ninety-six children suffering from asthma, bronchitis, cerebral palsy,
muscular dystrophy, foot and postural defects received a total of 4,510
treatments.
Physiotherapy
It was possible, during the year, to increase by five the number of sessions
held each week in clinic premises and special schools by the appointment of
two part-time therapists; but there are still waiting lists for this treatment
both at clinics and in special schools.
Defects treated by the speech therapists may be placed broadly in one of
three categories: retarded speech and language development; articulation
difficulties; stammer.
During the year three children suffering from language retardation were
assessed at the Wolfson Centre and Department of Developmental Paediatrics,
and commenced attending four mornings a week at the Centre's language
class. Encouraging reports on their progress have been received.
One student from the Oldrey-Fleming School of Speech Therapy attended
the Edmonton Central Clinic for one session a week during the last quarter
of the year for practical training.
Discussions have taken place with the Chief Education Officer on the
possibility of establishing a special unit locally to cater for those children of
Speech clinics
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