View report page

cases, thirty children in all were seen during the year suffering
from rheumatism. In the majority of these cases the evidence of
rheumatism was only occasional and not very severe, but in a few
cases definite attacks of acute rheumatism occurred for which active
treatment in hospital or at home had to be obtained. All these
cases of rheumatism and heart disease are kept under regular
supervision at the School Clinic.
(j) Tuberculosis.
Six cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were seen in school children
during the year. All of these had already received Sanatorium
treatment and were in a quiescent state and in every case they
were kept under observation at the Clinic and allowed to attend
school. Eleven cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis, all of them
quiescent or cured, were also kept under observation.
6.—FOLLOWING-UP.
All defects discovered at medical inspections are reported to
the parents or guardians, with a request that the necessary treatment
be obtained as soon as possible. Later, the Visitation Officer visits
the homes, to see whether treatment has been obtained, and, if not,
to impress on the parent the importance of obtaining it. In most
cases there is no delay in following the advice given, but in a
minority of cases pressure has to be brought to bear on the parents
before treatment is provided. The number of visits paid during the
year by the Visitation Officer in the work of following-up the defects
found at medical inspections has been 1,831.
7. —ARRANGEMENTS FOR TREATMENT.
The normal procedure is to recommend the parents of children
found to require medical treatment to obtain the treatment privately
from the family doctor or at hospital, but where the circumstances
are such as to make it difficult or impossible to obtain treatment
privately, provision has been made by the Education Committee
for the treatment of certain types of defect. Treatment is provided
at the School Clinic for minor ailments, dental defects and defects
of vision, hearing and speech. Tonsils and adenoids are dealt with
at the Prince of Wales's Hospital and the Royal Northern Hospital,
9