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108
To the School Medical Officer,
Education Committee.
County Borough of East Ham
23rd January, 1928.
Sir,
I have the honour to submit my report for the work done in
the Aural Clinic during the year 1927.
The number of children seen by me amounted to 355, of whom
186 were boys and 169 girls. This necessitated a total number of
visits of 871, but apart from these to the Specialist there were, of
course, a great number made to the Treatment Clinic, amounting
in all to 2,621.
The number of cases classified as deafness only was 1120, but
these with the added symptom of discharging ears came to 180.
Of these the number that showed improvement in hearing and discharge
were 78, which may be considered a fairly good result
when one fully appreciates the stubbornness of certain types of
aural discharge and the difficulties encountered in providing the
very best methods of treatment always.
The operation for removal of tonsils and adenoids was recommended
in the case of 131 children, and in the majority of these
it was duly performed. Considerable delay still occurs, however,
owing to the lack of sufficient accommodation in the various
hospitals concerned.
The number of cases discharged as cured or for whom treatment
was considered no longer necessary was 139.
I should like to draw attention to the fact that very often a
patient when ordered to attend a hospital for an operation upon
the mastoid, chiefly in cases of a very chronic discharge, finds great
difficulty in gaining early admission. Very often in these circumstances
I have seen fit to deal with these cases in the wards of my