View report page

In January arrangements were made, tor a trial period,
for one of the school nurses to attend at the Silvertown
Maternity and Child Welfare Clinic for an hour each morning
to treat minor ailments, in order to obviate the necessity of
children from this comparatively inaccessible area having to
make the rather circuitous journey to Rosetta Road Clinic.
Attendances, however, did not prove as large as anticipated
(averaging 1.2 per session), and in September the nurses' visits
were reduced to two per week, on Monday and Thursday. The
situation remained under observation at the end of the year.
EXTERNAL EYE DISEASES AND VISUAL DEFECTS.
The number of cases of external eye disease which received
treatment at the minor-ailment clinics during the year 1947 was
632. The more severe cases, which do not respond at the minorailment
clinics, and many cases of accidents to the eyes, are
dealt with by the School Ophthalmic Surgeon at the Stratford
Ophthalmic Clinic. Further details are given on pages 100-101.
Some cases of eye defect, notably phlyctenular conjunctivitis,
do very well at the Fyfield Open-Air School, a prolonged stay
usually being necessary.
Dr. Russell's report on the work of the Ophthalmic Clinic
follows:—
REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE OPHTHALMIC
CLINIC
By Dr. A. A. S. RUSSELL, M.B., Ch.B., D.P.H., D.O.M.S.
The Eye Clinic is looked on as a place to attend for a
prescription for glasses, and although 1,359 such prescriptions
were given out to school children during the year 1947, much
other work is also necessary for the proper care of the children's
eyes.
One, and in some cases two, attendances are necessary for
the carrying out of refractions, but further attendances are made
throughout the year in nearly half the cases, including all those
having squints and some of the short-sighted children.
Among the children receiving prescriptions for glasses, 379
had short sight; of these, 90 were re-inspected in six months, and
those having a high degree of myopia were told to report to
the clinic every three months. Another 9 children, found to
have a very slight degree of myopia, and glasses not being
prescribed at the first visit, were also kept under observation.