London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Ilford 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ilford]
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70
SPECIAL CLINICS.
Ophthalmic Clinic.
During the year 1950. the School Oculist held 220 sessoins for the
refraction of children suffering from defective vision (131 at Valentines and
89 at Mayesbrook). Full details of the work are given in Table IV.
Group II.
4,006 attendances (2,278 at Valentines Clinic, 1,728 at Mayesbrook
Clinic) were made by 1,504 schoolchildren (906 at Valentines Clinic, 598
at Mayesbrook Clinic), as compared with 1,265 schoolchildren in 1949.
The 1,504 children were not all suffering from grave defects of vision. The following table shows the vision in the worst eye, as tested by Snellen's Type:—
| 6/6 | 6/9 | 6/12 | 6/18 | 6/24 | 6/36 | 6/60 | less than 6/60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | 261 | 282 | 243 | 170 | 138 | 78 | 31 |
The children who saw 6/6 (practically normal vision) were suffering
from symptoms such as headaches, inflamed eyelids, etc., which rendered
further examination necessary.
The 1,504 children were found to be suffering from the following defects:—
| Diagnosis | New Cases | Old Cases | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | B | A | B | |
| Myopia | 72 | 46 | 177 | 95 |
| Myopic Astigmatism | 15 | 1 | 17 | 15 |
| Hypermetropia | 60 | 33 | 160 | 101 |
| Hypermetropic Astigmatism | 2 | 2 | 22 | 24 |
| Anisometropia | — | — | 5 | 7 |
| Hypermetropia with Squint | 7 | - | 16 | 13 |
| Squint | 45 | 41 | 192 | 121 |
| Blepharitis | 3 | 5 | 17 | 10 |
| Chalazion | — | — | - | 2 |
| Congenital Coloboma | — | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Corneal nebulae | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| Conjunctivitis | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Nystagmus | — | — | 6 | 6 |
| Other conditions | 7 | — | 6 | 9 |
| N.A.D. | 30 | 9 _ | 30 | 41 |
| Totals | 246 | 142 | 660 | 456 |
| A—Valentines. B—Mayesbrook. | ||||
1.234 complete pairs of spectacles were provided, some of these being
renewals after breakages. In addition, in 303 cases the lenses of spectacles
were replaced or repairs of frames were carried out.
The Hospital Management Committee, Ilford and Barking Group
(N.E. Metropolitan Hospital Region), assumed responsibility for the supply
of spectacles as from 25th September, 1950.
Orthoptic Clinic.—The position is very disappointing. Of 435 cases
of squint. 220 have been recommended for orthoptic treatment since 1st
June, 1950. No such treatment is available for these cases in Ilford. A
few urgent cases have been referred to the Orthopic Clinics at the London
Hospitals, but they are unable to take any more at present.