My special children.

Six part series on major developments in medicine since the inauguration of the NHS fifty years ago. "Part 4: My Special Children" Dr. Barbara Ansell, C.B.E., spent 40 years at Taplow Hospital, Berks., working with arthritic children. Her research into rheumatism enabled children who would otherwise have passed their lives in wheelchairs to regain mobility. She used water therapy to overcome the pain caused by physiotherapy, but with little available in the way of drugs, it was largely her personality and dedication that enabled her patients to persevere with treatment that was still distressing. She administered potentially dangerous treatment for amyloidosis, a condition arising from arthritis and a cause of kidney failure. When Taplow Hospital closed in 1985 Dr. Ansell worked throughout Britain to set up regional centres so that young arthritis patients could be treated near their homes.