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In the Appendix to this report will be found an analysis of the defects found to require treatment or
observation.
Medical Treatment
In the Appendix to this report details are given of treatment (excluding uncleanliness and dental
defects) of pupils attending maintained primary and secondary schools (including nursery and special
schools), whether provided direct by the Council or arranged through other agencies.
School Advice Clinics
The term 'minor ailment clinic' no longer describes adequately the work carried out at these
clinics. Here are treated the minor ailments such as slight injuries which are of frequent occurrence
during childhood, together with certain common infections of the skin and minor defects of the eye>or
ear. However, parents are free to take their children to these clinics for advice on any condition and
much valuable health education and other work is carried out at these sessions. School Advice Clinics
are held at eleven clinics in the Borough and 10½ sessions are held per week.
Ophthalmic Clinics
There are three school ophthalmic clinics held in the Borough, and 7½ sessions are held each
week.
At Lordship Lane Clinic, an orthoptist is employed who works nine sessions a week at the Clinic,
and in addition visits Vale Road School for Physically Handicapped Children one session a week. A
second orthoptist is normally employed at the Hornsey Town Hall Clinic for four sessions a week, but
this post is vacant at present. There is no Orthoptic Clinic at Stuart Villa, Wood Green, though it is
hoped to establish one there in the future. Meantime, it is intended to meet this deficiency to some
extent by the appointment of an orthoptist to work six sessions a week at the Hornsey Clinic, devoting
two of these sessions to Wood Green children.
Dr. T.G. Kletz, consulting ophthalmologist at Lordship Lane Clinic, reports:-
"The work at this clinic is mainly investigation and correction of refractive errors, and investigation
and orthoptic treatment of squints, muscle imbalance and amblyopia.
While most of the children are aged between five years and school leaving age, about 10% of the
children seen are under the age of five years. Following refraction and correction of errors by glasses
cases of manifest or suspected squints and cases of amblyopia are referred for orthoptic investigation
and treatment if required. During the year, 40% of cases treated in the orthoptic clinic were complete
successes and a further 30% are improving but still under treatment. 15% failed to improve. Of the
cases of amblyopia treated by occlusion, 70% improved to 6/9 or 6/6, whilst a further 10% improved to
6/18 or 6/12.
During the year there has been a noticeable increase in the number of immigrant children attending
the clinic and amongst these children there is a high incidence of myopia and a number of young children
with very high myopia who may not be able to cope under normal educational facilities."
Mr. E.M.G. Galton, consulting ophthalmologist at Stuart Villa Clinic, reports:-
"The work at the Eye Clinic continues smoothly. I should, however, very much like the work to
concern itself even more with the early detection of slight cases of squint in children of pre-school
age.".
It is most unfortunate that Dr. Robert Welch, consulting ophthalmologist at the Hornsey Town Hall
Clinic, has recently suffered a serious illness and consequently had to resign from his appointment during
the early part of 1966. The Authority and its predecessors owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Welch for the
devoted work he had put in at the Hornsey Ophthalmic Clinic since 1955. The loss of his services has
already been keenly felt, and considerable arrears of work have accrued at the clinic owing to difficulty
experienced by the Regional Hospital Board in the appointment of a successor.
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