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105
assistance of the N.S.P.C.C. is of the greatest help in dealing
with such parents.
Two children suffering from squint were referred from the
Refraction Clinic to hospital for operative treatment.
The following defects were discovered amongst the children
attending this clinic during 1937:—old choroiditis, congenital
nystagmus, phlyctenular conjunctivitis, nystagmus and
partial optic atrophy.
One hundred and nine children with external eye
disease received treatment at the Health Centre. A few of
the more serious cases were referred to the Oculist at the
Refraction Clinic. Many of these children require daily
treatment over fairly long periods. As in the case of many
other minor ailments it is very difficult for a great number
of the parents to carry out this treatment adequately at
home. At the Health Centre it is done by the school nurses
under the guidance of one of the Medical Staff. If the
children are irregular in their attendance they are followed
up at home. These defects are consequently more rapidly
rectified and a considerable gain in school attendance results.
The Education Committee have an arrangement with the
Nelson Hospital whereby school children suffering from eye
disease are admitted for in-patient treatment at a cost of
three shillings per day.
No child of school age was referred for treatment under
this arrangement in 1937.
(e) Nose and Throat Defects. Four children were operated
on for enlarged tonsils, and fifty-three for enlarged tonsils and
adenoids during 1937 at the Nelson and Wimbledon Hospitals
under the Education Committee's scheme. These patients
remain in hospital overnight after their operations. The
children are examined by the Medical Officer at the Health
Centre before they return to school. In addition, one child was
operated on for enlarged tonsils privately. This makes a total
of fifty-eight children who received surgical treatment. It will
thus be seen that forty-one fewer children were submitted to
operation for the removal of tonsils and adenoids during 1937
as compared with the previous year.
Where children are operated on under the Education
Committee's Scheme the cost to the Local Authority is
£1 6s. Od. for each case. This includes the operation, the