Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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(k) OTHER DEFECTS AND DISEASES.
The figures relating to other defects and diseases will be
found in the Appendix, Tables II (Return of Defects found).
These conditions mainly consist of minor injuries, sores, chilblains,
etc., and receive various forms of treatment, either at the
Clinics or by referring them to a Private Practitioner or local
Hospital.
(l) ARTIFICIAL SUNLIGHT TREATMENT.
This treatment is carried out at the Children's Hospital,
Plaistow, under the administration of Dr. Eva Morton.
The Education Committee have made special arrangements
with the Hospital whereby they accept responsibility for all
children recommended this form of treatment.
Dr. Morton sends the following particulars, which relate to
the West Ham children who have been treated there during the
past year:-
During the year, 136 school children were treated, including
a few under 5 years of age attending a Nursery School. The condition
for which they were most frequently referred to the Clinic
was debility, associated in nearly half the cases with anaemia.
Of 61 children in this category who made more than six attendances,
all but two (both of the same family with eight or nine
treatments respectively) were discharged "greatly improved."
Fifteen cases were referred for bronchial catarrh; all these
improved, one child putting on 51bs. after 24 treatments. Of 12
cases of malnutrition, all improved, the same being true of nine
cases of cervical adenitis—tuberculous and non-tuberculous.
Other conditions treated included psoriasis, alopecia, and rhumatism,
and one case each of spastic paraplegia and scrofuladerma.
Of the 22 patients discharged as not improved, 17 attended
for less than six treatments, and none for more than nine, several
of these being very irregular in their attendance.
(8) Infectious Diseases.
The methods employed in the detection, and preventing the
spread, of Infectious diseases are as follows:-
(1) Exclusion from school of all children found to be suffering
from any disease or complaint which is considered to be infectious
or contagious.
(2) Exclusion from school of all children who have been in
contact with infectious disease.
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