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80
At Newbury Hall Clinic. 22 children of school age were discharged
from the Artificial Sunlight Clinic, 15 as cured, 7 showing considerable
improvement.
11 children were still receiving treatment at the end of the year.
At Mayesbrook Clinic, 12 children of school age were discharged from
the Artificial Sunlight Clinic, 11 as cured, 1 discharged due to absence.
25 children were still receiving treatment at the end of the year.
Aural Clinic.
The Aural Clinic is held at Valentines Mansion, the Surgeon attending
one session weekly.
48 sessions were held during 1954 and 950 attendances were made by
536 children of school age, of whom 300 were new cases.
The Consulting Oto-Rhino-Laryngologist (Miss Margaret Mason) submits
the following report:—
"The attendance at this Clinic in 1954 has maintained about the
same rate as that of the year 1953; 300 new patients and 236 old
patients made, between them, a total of 950 attendances.
176 children were recommended for operations, as compared with
180 the previous year. The vast majority of these were for tonsil and
adenoids operations, some with antral lavage also. We again had the
use of the Theatre block at the Isolation Hopsital for the latter six
months of the year, and were enabled to get so far on with these
operations that the waiting list at the end of the year had diminished
to 92, from 260 the year before. However, we are still dependent
on a low incidence of respiratory diseases for the use of these beds;
if they could be made available regularly, the waiting time before
admission could be cut to a very few months.
The position has been further eased, however, by my having been
appointed to the staff of King George Hospital as well as to the
School Health Service, and so we have enjoyed a much closer coordination
with the hospital than was possible before. Urgent operation
cases can be admitted to the hospital if necessary, when the Isolation
hospital beds are not available, and daily out-patient treatment for
cases of, say, otitis media is now easy to arrange. We have also come
to a most helpful agreement with Mr. Scott, of Whipps Cross Hospital,
whereby pure-tone audiometry can be done for our children if
required.
1 have been impressed by the extreme usefulness of the routine
School Gramophone Audiometer testing. Several cases of advanced
chronic mastoid disease have been picked up by this means, when the
accompanying otorrhoea and earache had been left quite untreated,
due either to negligence or ignorance on the part of parents. These
cases, together with those for such procedures as intranasal astrostomy,
have been treated at King George Hospital.
During the year the Theatre at the Isolation Hospital, already a
most efficient unit, has been further improved by such means as the
provision of spark proof switches, and anti-static equipment, laryngoscopes.
an efficient suction pump, etc., so that its safety is enhanced,
and that we are well equipped to deal with any emergency such as
post-operative haemorrhage on the spot, rather than having to transfer
the patient to King George Hospital, which was the previous arrangement.
I should like to pay tribute to the Head Teachers of schools in
the borough; they have in almost all cases given me helpful information
about their pupils, and have done their best to see that any
advice as to the care of children in school has been implemented."
The following table shows the work of the Clinic:—