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children are not getting adequate education, which in these cases
is often the only compensation for the physical deformity.
"The renovations in the Clinic room have been very much
appreciated.
"During the past year some orthopaedic beds have been
made available at the Southern Hospital, Dartford, and as a
result of this facility the In-Patients' waiting list has been considerably
reduced."
OPHTHALMIC CLINIC.
(See Table III, Group II.)
Dr. Eric Lyle reports as follows:
"There has been a steady increase in the work at the Bromley
School Eye Clinic this year; 1,213 cases have been examined,
of which 570 were new cases and 643 re-inspections. This has
necessitated an increase in the nuinber of sessions held each
week. Instead of two sessions each week, there are now three,
and it is hoped that the waiting list of patients for examination
will soon decrease in consequence.
"The average attendance at each clinic has been very high,
more especially so since the inception of the State Service on
July 5th. This increase of attendance rate is, of course, a good
thing in that children who need treatment are getting it and
seem to be rightly encouraged by their parents to obtain the
necessary treatment. This fact is to be regarded as a very satisfactory
outcome of the State Health Service and its implications.
"Unfortunately, there are a few matters which have arisen
as disadvantages since the School Ophthalmic Service has come
under the control of the National Health Service :
"(1) The delay in obtaining lenses for school children is
quite phenomenal and extremely disquieting. Whereas before
July 5th spectacles could be dispensed within 10-14 days, now it
is more like 10-14 weeks. This is a very unsatisfactory feature
and one which should be remedied.
"(2) The increase in form-filling is irksome and timeconsuming.
It adds at least twenty minutes on to the total time
expended per session. It is hoped that the present form, O.S.C.2,
will be dispensed with when the Hospital Service takes over the
School Eye Clinics.
"(3) Whereas before July 5th such things as SALVOC lenses
and Occluders were able to be prescribed at the Clinic, now.
when these articles have to be prescribed, these cases have to be
referred to my own Hospital Out-Patients' Department. Then,