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84
Rheumatism Clinic.
The Physician attended 17 morning sessions during the year, and 90
children (48 of these being new cases) made 115 attendances.

Number of cases referred to General Hospital (In-patients) 17
„ „ „ Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon 12
„ „ „ Orthopaedic Surgeon 5
„ „ „ For X-ray and Electro-Cardiogram 33
„ „ „ Blood Sedimentation Rate 12
Upon reaching retirement age on 5th September 1956, Dr. Kenneth
Playfair resigned his appointment as Consultant to the Rheumatism Clinic
after 19 years service with the Authority. The functions of this Clinic were
transferred to King George Hospital, Ilford.
Speech Clinics.
Mrs. M. Walker, the Senior Speech Therapist, reports on the work at
the Speech Clinics as follows:—
"There were two changes of appointment during the year 1956,
and our therapists are now as follows:—
Mrs. Walker—full-time—at Valentines Clinic.
Mrs. McGill —6 sessions per week—at Mayesbrook Clinic.
Mrs. Pretious—6 sessions per week—Cerebal Palsy Unit.
4 „ „ ,, —Manford Way Clinic.
1 session „ „ —Fairlop School.
We are now feeling the benefit of the increased number of Speech
Therapists in that waiting lists have at last become manageable. We
are pleased to note that more under-fives are being referred, for as
stated previously, it is important that a child be sent to a speech
clinic as soon as the parents admit to any anxiety, rather than to take
the risk of the problem becoming worse as the child grows older. In
the event that the parent is over-anxious and that in fact the child's
speech ' defect' is merely a stage in normal maturation, reassurance
and advice from the speech therapist to the parents can prevent the
child being worried into speech difficulty.
Attendance in clinics has been slightly lower than last year. We
attribute this to an apparent increase in minor ailments among
the children. There has been no improvement in attendance during
school holidays.