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Negotiations for an Orthoptic Clinic at Mayesbrook have made no
progress and the situation is acute. Many children will need treatment
as soon as the Orthoptic Clinic is opened.
Orthopaedic Clinic.
Mr. H. G. Korvin. F.R.C.S., the Orthopaedic Surgeon, makes the
following report:—
"The outstanding feature of Mayesbrook and Newbury Hall
Orthopaedic Clinics is the overwhelming number of attendances. Only
the highly efficient and co-operative work of the clerical, nursing, and
physiotherapy staff make it possible to cope with such numbers at all.
Even so there remains the difficulty of being able to give not more
than three minutes, on an average, to each patient, while some cases,
such as poliomyelitis, cerebral palsy, early tuberculosis, etc., require
repeated examinations of up to 15 or 20 minutes. In order to ease
the position the intervals between attendances have been extended
where it could safely be done, and the checking of certain splints and
of alterations to footwear has been delegated to the physiotherapist.
The position could be further improved if it were possible to delegate
supervision of certain cases after the first attendance to one or more
of the School Medical Officers, acting as clinical assistants.
"An improvement has been introduced at Mayesbrook in that
the physiotherapist, Mrs. King, is attending there at the clinic in
order that the treatment required can be discussed in each case, as was
already being done at Newbury Hall.
As in previous years operative cases have been referred to various
hospitals, new amongst which were the East Ham Memorial Hospital
and the Plastic Unit at Basingstoke. In the interest of the children's
schooling and development stays in hospital were kept to the necessary
minimum.
"In the fitting of appliances certain changes had recently been
made and smooth running has not yet been achieved, the chief difficulties
being long delays, non-individual fittings, and the necessity for
mothers and children to attend elsewhere for the purpose. Particularly
difficult fittings have been arranged at East Ham Memorial
Hospital where an experienced instrument-maker attends weekly. A
trial is now being made in handing out, in certain cases, reconditioned
splints, a stock of which is kept at the clinic. This saves time and
expenses. Permission is at present being sought from the Regional
Board to deal in a similar way with new splints and stock insoles.
"The arrangement by which specified alterations to footwear are
carried out by local shoemakers and stores is working, on the whole,
very satisfactorily."
(i) Newbury Hall Clinic.—52 sessions were held during 1950, 195 children
of school age were examined for the first time during the year and 480
children were seen who had previously attended the clinic. These 675
children made 1,442 attendances.
(ii) Mayesbrook Clinic.—26 sessions were held during 1950, 95 children
of school age were examined for the first time during the year and 225
children were seen who had previously attended the clinic. These 320
children made 771 attendances.