SIR WALTER FOSTER (Derbyshire, Ilkeston)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to a Medical Report issued in February, 1902, in which it was shown that 520 out of 1,000 children in the Barrack Schools of Hanwell could not pass the whisper test for hearing; that 335 were, or had been, the subjects of discharge from one or both ears; that eighty-eight of them were suffering from chronic suppuration; and that 434 children out of the 1,000 examined had adenoids; and what steps have been taken to improve the condition of these children.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. WALTER LONG,) Bristol, S.I have seen the Report referred to, from which it appears that the results of the examination of 1,000 children at the Hanwell 1079 Schools were as stated in the Question. The examination was made by Mr. Cheatle, by request of the managers of the schools. I am informed that the children suffering from adenoids are now receiving surgical treatment, and that a committee of the managers, after consultation with Mr. Cheatle, are considering the best means of dealing with cases of diseases of the ears. It may be mentioned that a similar examination, which was made by Dr. Willcocks in 1898, revealed a large proportion of adenoid disease. As a result of that investigation, 107 children from the schools were successfully treated for adenoids at St. Bartholomew's Hospital between October, 1898, and January, 1901. In his Report, Dr. Willcocks stated that the school life and the surroundings of the children could not be held responsible in any sense for adenoid troubles, the disease being prevalent among children in all classes of society. A similar opinion has been expressed by Mr. Cheatle and other medical men interested in the matter.