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These clinics, in addition to being used as treatment centres are
available for consultation purposes. Here children are seen at the request
of the parents or of the teachers or for a more detailed examination of a
particular child seen at a periodic medical inspection in school.
Minor Ailment Clinics
These clinics deal mainly with odd slight injuries, such as sprains,
burns, cuts, a few of the common skin infections and minor defects of the
eye and ear. Despite the growth in the school population, the number
attending these "minor ailment" sessions has tended to fall over the past
few years. However, as mentioned above, the sessions are also used much
more for consultation and special examination purposes at which the
medical and nursing staff can devote much more detailed attention to a
particular child's problems.
Eye Diseases, Defective Vision and Squint
During the year, 191 cases of disease of the eye (including minor
defects treated at minor ailment clinics) were treated. Through arrangements
made with the Regional Hospital Board, children with defective
vision are referred to either the Honeypot Lane Clinic, the Caryl Thomas
Clinic or the Alexandra Avenue Clinic, where refraction is carried out by
an ophthalmic surgeon. 1,056 such cases were referred during the year and
in 325 cases glasses were prescribed.
Orthoptic Clinic
An Orthoptist attends the Caryl Thomas Clinic for two sessions each
week to deal with cases referred by the visiting ophthalmic surgeon. These
cases include the pre and post-operative treatment of cases of squint.
Vision Testing
The accurate recording of a child's vision is of primary importance
and every effort is made to obtain an as accurate as possible result in
all school entrants. Both the rotating 'E' Card and the Sheridan-Pugmire
Cards are used. Doubtful results are carefully followed up by repeat
examinations either in school or at the clinic.
Vision is again tested at future periodic school medical inspections.
Ideally a child's vision should be recorded annually but this is not possible
at present. However, as a compromise, efforts are made to conduct
a biennial test of vision by having additional vision sweep tests carried out
by the health visitor/school nurse or clinic nurse. In order to test vision
by standardised procedures which are independent of the conditions of
test, a Keystone Telebinocular Vision Screener is in use—this machine
indicates near point and distance seeing ability easily and rapidly. Tests
for colour vision can be introduced for screening of the 11 year age group.
All pupils failing this screening procedure are referred to the ophthalmic
surgeon. The test tends to be very selective but this is not considered to
be a drawback.