Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Haringey]
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Year Sessions Total Attendances New Cases
Under 5 years Over 5 years Under 5 years Over 5 years
1966 75 116 980 48 182
1967 97 158 1,275 66 226
The work as before has been correction of refractive error and investigation of unilateral amblyopia,
muscle imbalances and squints. A very large number of children under five years of age brought in as
convergent squint were found to have uni- or bilateral epicanthus and no true squint. We are lucky to
have appointed an orthoptist recently and it is hoped that from January 1968 most of the cases of muscle
imbalance and squint will be investigated and treated at the clinic."
Medical Services at Vale Road School for Physically Handicapped Children
The Cerebral Palsy Unit associated with the School is a centre to which mothers are referred for
advice and children for treatment, as soon as a diagnosis of cerebral palsy has been made. Dr. William
Dunham, the consultant in charge of the Unit, attends once a week and a full time cerebral palsy therapist
gives treatment to these children under his direction. A speech therapist and an educational
psychologist are available to give advice and treatment in suitable cases.
A medical officer attends at the school twice a week and there is also a full time school nurse,
and a full time physiotherapist who is in constant touch with the hospital consultants concerned.
Once again I am grateful to Mr. A.J. Ives, the headmaster of the school and his staff for their continued
co-operation with the medical staff.
Of the seven new cases seen at the Cerebral Palsy Unit during 1967, three were Haringey children
and four were from the London Borough of Enfield. Three of these children were under five years of age
and four over five. The recommendations made in respect of new cases were as follows:-
Recommended admission to Vale Road Special School. 6
Referred for further investigation of intellectual ability. 1
Orthopaedic Clinics
There are two orthopaedic clinics in the Borough, at each of which fortnightly sessions are held.
I am indebted to Mr. E.H. Hambly, consulting orthopaedic surgeon to Lordship Lane Clinic, for the
following report:-
"The Orthopaedic Clinics have been well attended during the last year. The number of new cases
in the year was 347, and the total attendances were 911.
The Clinic is fortunate in having excellent administrative help and physiotherapy is still under
the excellent charge of Mrs. N. Allardice. This is particularly important as we have such considerable
numbers of teenage boys and girls who have poor posture which is partly due to very rapid growth as
they are all likely to be taller than their parents. I am very encouraged by the superb responses from
the boys and girls and their parents to these exercises.
Our liaison with Mr. Ives and his staff at the Vale Road Physically Handicapped School is as close
as ever and Miss Marcus, the physiotherapist, exerts great efforts in dealing with the wide and numerous
cases of progressive muscular atrophy.
All the operations arising from patients seen in these clinics are performed by me at the Prince of
Wales's Hospital and include such operations as triple arthrodesis, elongation of tendo-Achilles and
leg shortening of the good leg in cases where anterior poliomyelitis has resulted in shortening of the
affected leg."
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