[Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Bolton County Borough.

  • Bolton (Greater Manchester, England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Bolton County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    147/170 (page 43)
    For necessitous children the Bolton Infirmary is the chief institu- tion available for treatment. It has done all that it could possibly do and it is earnestly to be hoped that the funds necessary for its extension will soon be forthcoming. This would remove the most serious obstacle that has confronted those endeavouring to obtain proper treatment for necessitous children, namely the long and disheartening period of waiting for a bed at the Infirmary. Many parents have for this reason refused to take their children to the Infirmary, and it has made extremely difficult the proper “following up” of cases. Some few cases have been referred to other hospitals, amongst which the Royal Southern Hospital, Liverpool, deserves especial mention. Some orthopaedic cases have been treated there with most gratifying results. The provision of spectacles has not been much hampered by the inability of the parents to pay for them. The Guild of Help has rendered excellent service in this matter. The chief difficulty is the fear of the parents that the wearing of spectacles may hinder their children’s prospects in life, a fear which is not altogether groundless, for at least one large mill in Bolton refuses to employ children wearing spectacles. a Few people realise how much is done for the poorer children by the teachers in providing clogs, clothing, etc. The unostentatious way in which this is done is a striking testimonial to the sincerity of their interest in the children under their care. The Guild of Help and the Queen Street Mission have rarely failed to give effective assistance to the children referred to them by the Medical Inspection Staff. I venture to think that a Children’s Care Committee in connexion with the Guild of Help might render invalu- able assistance to those engaged in Medical inspection. The conditions, alluded to above, for which it is at present extremely difficult for almost any parents to obtain adequate treatment are: sore eyes, running ears, ringworm, impeligo, and other skin conditions. These cases are most disheartening to the school doctor. Their home treatment is futile and leads to an immense amount of avoidable absence from school,