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125
ORTHOPÆDIC SECTION.
The scheme for the treatment of children up to their time
of leaving school is complete and I am glad to say that there
are indications that the continuation of treatment and the
vocational training of cripples is receiving more attention, as
witness the recent developments at the country branch of the
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
The prevention of the development of crippling defects
must, of course, remain the issue of paramount importance.
Many of the minor defects, such as round shoulders, may be
largely the result of faulty posture and the appointment of
physical training instructors to supervise the training of the
children is a commendable forward step.
As regards the more serious form of crippling I asked Mr.
Seddon, the Orthopaedic Surgeon, if, as the result of the year's
work, he could provide me with his comments on this subject
and he reports as follows:—
"The most striking feature of the work of the
orthopaedic clinic during the past year has been the large
number of admissions to hospital. It is necessary to
determine whether this is due to any fault in our preventive
work, or whether the number of patients requiring
hospital treatment was fortuitous.
There were three cases of rickets that required operative
correction of bow legs—they were the most severe of
the 36 cases of rachitic deformity seen during the year.
Ideally, this condition should no longer be seen, for rickets
is a disease that can easily be prevented provided one can
count on the intelligent co-operation of parents. Nothing
more is required than proper attention to feeding and the
regular administration of cod liver oil. My impression
of this part of the work of the Maternity and Child
Welfare Centres at Hendon is that it is carried out efficiently,
but the intelligence of parents sometimes leaves
much to be desired. Too often the attitude is taken that