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150
The School Ophthalmic Surgeon makes the following observations
on the work of the Special Eye Clinic during the year:—
The department has now been moved to more up-to-date quarters
in the new Leyton Green Clinic. The figures for the year show an increase
—though the school population has fallen to 15,806. To these figures must
he added the number of cases referred from the Maternity and Child Welfare
Clinic, amounting to 30, with 46 attendances.
The proportion of myopic children has risen slightly to 2.49 per cent.
of the school population. This figure need give rise to no anxiety as the
average for the last seven years has been in the region of 2.1 per cent.—a
much lower figure than in many parts of this country and considerably
lower than in Armenia or Germany.
A fair number of cases are still found to have a spasm of accommodation
and are cured without the use of glasses by attention to the child's
posture in reading and -writing. In this the co-operation of teachers and
parents has been sought and gladly given.
Dental Clinic.—The number of children belonging to the
routine age groups inspected at school by the School Dental Surgeons
was 8,002, i.e., 56 per cent, of the average number of children in
attendance at the schools. The numbers inspected in each age
group were :—
Aged 5 447
6 795
7 755
8 647
9 848
10 844
11 939
12 1,090
13 1,108
14 529
In addition, the School Dental Surgeons made 2,167 special
inspections of children otherwise than in the course of routine age
group inspection covered by the Authority's approved scheme,
i.e., children specially selected by the dental surgeons, or referred
to them by school medical officers, parents, teachers, etc., on account
of urgency.
The total number of children submitted to special dental
inspection during the year was therefore 10,169.