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Notes and News

DANISH HOSPITALITYON Oct. 2 members of the National Association for the

Prevention of Tuberculosis and of the Anglo-Danish Societymet to hear a report on the first year’s working of the scheme,made possible by the generosity of the society, wherebyBritish children with tuberculosis are sent to Denmark toreceive free treatment at Vordingborg Sanatorium. Thechildren are selected by the medical committee of the N.A.P.T.,and Dr. Harley Williams, the secretary-general, explainedthat the first 25 children who went to Denmark in Marchwere drawn mostly from London, but another 25 who had justleft for Denmark came from Cornwall, the Midlands, Wales,Scotland, and East Anglia. Of the first party 14 had nowreturned to their homes greatly restored in health. All the

arrangements had worked smoothly and the parents weresatisfied and enthusiastic about the scheme. Sir Michael

Kroyer-Kielberg, chairman of the Anglo-Danish SocietyFund, said that it was the intention of the fund to send anincreasing number of children to Denmark in the next fewyears. Dr. Niels Sjorslev, medical director of the DanishNational Association for the Fight against Tuberculosis,described Denmark’s successful fight against tuberculosisfrom the opening in 1875 of a sanatorium for scrofulous childrento present-day methods of control which include a country-wide network of chest clinics backed by B.c.G. vaccination.In proposing a vote of thanks to him Sir John Charles happilycontrasted the war-like invasion of England by the Danes somany centuries ago with the smaller return invasion thisyear when British children were overwhelmed with kindnessand hospitality by the warm-hearted Danes.

SPASTICS NEEDING HELP

IN the last ten years children with cerebral palsy have beenreceiving some public attention ; and not before it was time.The numbers of spastics (so called) in Great Britain havebeen variously estimated at 20,000 and 30,000, and some10,000 of these are children ; but there may well be more,since, of course, the condition is not easy to diagnose in infancy.Most children with cerebral palsy are normal mentally, andall of them can benefit from training, beginning in childhood(the earlier the better), in the use of their muscles; but so farthe provision made for such training is very scanty.

In a film, The Chance of Their Lives, the,_National SpasticsSociety have tried to show how great the need is ; and theyhave had the good luck to get Wilfred Pickles to tell the

story. The film shows how badly these children are handi-capped when among normal children ; and how greatly theybenefit from training in special schools such as St. Margaret’sSchool at Croydon. There are, however, only six such schoolsin the country at the moment, and only one spastic child inten can hope to get a place. To illustrate the usual fate of theuntreated case the film shows a young man with a severe

degree of cerebral palsy applying hopelessly for one job afteranother, and being turned down on his appearance alone.Spastic children outnumber blind and deaf children by about2 to 1 ; yet almost all blind and deaf children are taught inspecial schools.The film is intended for general showing, and all will wish

it well. It reveals sympathetically and pleasantly whatchildren born with cerebral palsy have to face, as well as

what friendly and likeable children they generally are.

University of LondonDr. Arthur W. Proetz, professor of clinical otolaryngology

in Washington University and president of the AmericanBoard of Otolaryngology, will deliver the Semon lecture at5 P.M., on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 1, Wimpole Street, W.I. Hewill speak on Clinical Aspects of Respiratory Air Currents.

Whitley CouncilsThe following have been nominated as members of the staff

side of Committee C of the Medical Whitley Council for thesession 1952-53 :W. G. Clark, J. Cottrell, H. K. Cowan, Doris A. Craigmile, J. M.

Gibson, C. E. E. Herington, E. Catherine Morris Jones, A. Macrae,B. R. Nisbet, J. Riddell, J. A. Stirling, J. A. Struthers, J. B. Tilley.

The following deputy members have also been nominated:H. D. Chalke, H. M. Cohen, 1. G. Davies, G. Matthew Fyfe, J.

Kelman, J. Sharpe, Gladys Stableforth, H. C. Maurice Williams,R. C. Wofinden.

Royal College of Physicians of LondonOn Nov. 6, Dr. R. R. Bomford will deliver the Bradshaw

lecture at the college, Pall Mall East, S.W.I. He will speakon Changing Concepts of Health and Disease, with ParticularReference to" Psychosomatic Medicine." Prof. A. A. Moncrieffwill deliver the Charles West lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 11,on Infection in the Newborn Baby. Both lectures are at5 P.M.

Royal College of Surgeons of EnglandFaculty of Dental Surgery.-Sir William Kelsey Fry has

been re-elected dean.

British Postgraduate Travelling FellowshipsThe British Postgraduate Medical Federation invites

applications from doctors and dentists for these fellowships,which have been set up to enable graduates who are in thecourse of training as specialists in one of the preclinical orclinical branches of medicine, surgery, or dentistry, to obtainexperience of the methods of practice, education, and researchat universities or other centres in the United Kingdom andabroad. Further particulars will be found in our advertisementcolumns.

Society of Apothecaries of LondonA course of postgraduate lectures on Modern Methods in

Treatment is to be held in the hall of the society, Black FriarsLane, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.4, at 3.30 and 5 P.M., fromNov. 3 to 6. The speakers will be : Mr. T. Holmes Sellors,Sir Geoffrey Todd, Sir William Gilliatt, Dr. Kenneth Harris,Sir Horace Evans, Mr. A. Dickson Wright, Dr. Robert Forbes,and Dr. R. Hale-White. Admission is free, without ticket.

Heberden SocietyOn Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10 A.M., at B.M.A. House, Tavistoek

Square, London, W.C.1, Lord Horder, the president-electof the society, will deliver the Heberden oration for 1952.He is to speak on Rheumatism-a National Problem.

University College, LondonSir Geoffrey Jefferson, F.R.s., will deliver the Rickman

Godlee lecture at the college, Gower Street, W.C.1, on Oct. 23,at 5.30 P.M. He is to speak on the Prodromes to CorticalLocalisation.

London’s New Health Centre - -

On Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 3 P.M., Mr. Somerville Hastings isto open London County Council’s first comprehensive healthcentre at Woodberry Hall, 218, Green Lanes, N.4.

Manchester Royal Infirmary Old ResidentsMore than three hundred members attended a dinner of

the M.R.I. Old Residents Club held on Oct. 4 at Manchesterunder the presidency of Prof. John Morley. Prof. L. J. Witts,in proposing the toast of The Hospital and its Historian,Dr. William Brockbank, claimed for himself the distinctionof having been described as " the finest student that Man-chester ever turned out." Dr. Brockbank replied with awhirlwind of facts and figures about the infirmary and oldresidents. Dr. E. J. Foulds proposed the health of ThePresident, and Professor Morley replied. The meeting hadbeen moved forward a year so that it could coincide with thehospital’s bicentenary year, and during the evening com-parisons were inevitable but not odious. Today, for instance,there are so many resident posts that there is a net increaseof about 15 a year in the membership of the club. Bothof the country’s surgical peers are members, and 2% of themembers hold professorial chairs.

Association of Clinical PathologistsAt the annual general meeting held at Westminster

Medical School on Oct. 2 Prof. R. J. V. Pulvertaft was electedpresident, Prof. Dorothy Russell vice-president, and Dr.Cuthbert Dukes chairman of the council. The annual dinnerheld next day commemorated the founding of the association25 years ago, and eight founder members were present-E. N. Davey, S. C. Dyke, G. Hadfield, S. G. Platts, A. Renshaw,A. G. Shera, A. F. S. Sladden, and C. J. Young. The toastto The Founder Members was proposed by Dr. Dukes, andDr. S. C. Dyke replied. Dr. W. H. MeMenemey proposedthe health of The Guests and Mr. lain Macleod, Minister ofHealth responded. On Oct. 1 at the Constitutional Club,members of the council had given a dinner and a mementoto Dr. Dyke at the conclusion of his ten years’ tenure ofoffice as chairman. Dr. MeMenemey presided.

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Society of Chemical IndustryAt a meeting of the fine chemicals group to be held at the

London School of Hygiene, Keppel Street, W.C.I , on Monday,Oct. 13, at 7 P.M., Prof. F. E. King, D.sc., will deliver a lectureon the Synthesis of Simple Peptides.Prescriptions in AugustThe Ministry of Health reports that in England and Wales

during the month of August the declared number of’NationalHealth Service prescriptions submitted was 14,075,256(decrease of 664% on August, 1951). The declared number offorms submitted was 8,224,987 (decrease of 13-5% on August,1951). The ratio of prescriptions to forms was 1-71 (1-59 inAugust, 1951).Ministry of Health FilmsThe Ministry has revised its list of sound films which may

now be hired from the Central Film Library. The films onhealth may be shown to lay audiences, those on medicine andsurgery only to medical and other professional audiences.Further particulars may be had from the library, GovernmentBuilding, Bromyard Avenue, London, W.3.

Middlesex Hospital DinnerPresiding over the annual dinner of the Middlesex Hospital

Medical School on Oct. 3, Mr. David Patey said that theMiddlesex owed its special privileged position to being ateaching hospital with university connections, responsible forpostgraduate work. It was recognised that teaching neces-sitates research, and in the present evolution of the healthservice " we are splendidly poised for making advances inmedicine." With its established scientific institutes and itsendowment fund (whose preservation and increase shouldbe a major concern) the hospital had a special duty andopportunity. From the standpoint of the patient, a teachinghospital had its inconveniences, but the public should bebrought to understand that the special advantages theyderive from being at a teaching hospital stem directly fromthe fact that it is a teaching hospital. At the same timeeverything possible should be done to preserve the dignityof the patient as an individual, by privacy or otherwise :Mr. Patey welcomed particularly the establishment of theRichard Davis waiting-room for the relatives of patients whoare dangerously ill, and he would like to see further develop-ments in the architecture of the wards. Looking at theworld more broadly,

" all that has been regarded as civilisa-tion, from Marathon and Bethlehem, is in danger," he said," of being submerged in a new wave of barbarism ; and weas a profession have a part to play in the intellectual refutationof this barbarism as a necessary prelude to its physicalrefutation." Sir Harold Boldero, the dean, spoke of theanxiety many students had felt about the new Medical Actrequiring them to hold 2 six-month house-appointmentsbefore registration. Long before the Act, however, the

average number of house-appointments held by Middlesexmen was 1½; and there should be no hardship exceptperhaps for men with families, whose case is now beingconsidered. The hospital was proud to know that two dis-tinguished men were coming to continue their researchesthere : Mr. V. E. Negus was to work in the Ferens Instituteand Prof. S. P. Bedson, F.B.s., had been invited to the Bland-Sutton Institute. Perhaps the most important of all the

developments of the past 10-15 years, in Sir Harold’s view,was the Institute of Clinical Research, which would besupported substantially from the endowment fund ; andwhen the new extensions were opened, members of the staffwould have modern facilities for pursuing ideas arising outof their clinical work. Dr. P. A. J. Ball, senior Broderipscholar, said that two students had represented the schoolas well as Britain in the Olympic Games, and had all butwon a gold medal. For the first time, the majority of house-men were now married ; and most of the others were engaged.This he regarded as a natural effect of the insecurity followingthe war ; but older people seemed inclined to put it downto a natural lack of forethought in the young and too muchsecurity in theN.H.S. ! The dean was reported to have saidthat it would of course mean the end of all social life. Mr.Richard Handley, proposing The Chairman, describedMr. Patey as the most honest man in London, and spokeof his inquiring mind, his courage, his kindness, and hishumour. His recent nautical experiments, Mr. Handleysaid, had been particularly striking-perhaps the most

important being his demonstration (unfortunately uncon-trolled) that steam does not always give way to sail.

Casualties in KoreaA recent casualty-list includes the name of Captain T. S.

Hart, R.A.M.C., who has been wounded in action in Korea.

New York Academy of MedicineDr. Harry D. Kruse has been appointed secretary to the

committee on public health relations of the academy insuccession to Dr. E. H. L. Corwin, who has retired.

Lasker Awards

Among six recipients of Lasker awards from the AmericanPublic Health Association are Sir Macfarlane Burnet, F.B.s.,director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne,and Dr. Brock Chisholm, director-general of the WorldHealth Organisation.Conference on Medical PhotographyThe medical group of the Institute of British Photographers

is holding its third annual conference at the Royal Hotel,Woburn Place, London, W.C.1, from Oct. 10 to 12.Further particulars may be had from the secretary of the

group, I.B.P. 49, Gordon Square, W.C.I.

Medical Congress at EvianThe second International Congress of Hippocratic Medicine

will be held at Evian from Sept. 3 to 6 next year under thepresidency of Professor Laignel-Lavastine. Prof. P. Delore,who is the secretary-general of the congress, may be addressedat 13 rue Jarente, Lyons, France.

British Standard for Cot MattressesA new British standard (B.s. 1819, part 2) has been issued

for spring-interior cot mattresses (hospital type) to fit thestandard hospital-type children’s cots, as specified in B.s. 1694.Copies (price 2s. 6d.) may be obtained from the/ BritishStandards Institution, Sales Branch, 24, Victoria Street,London, S.W.l.

Union of St. Luke for Medical Practitioners of theChurch of EnglandA service of commemoration of St. Luke’s day will be held

on Saturday, Oct. 18, at St. Stephen’s Church, Rochester Row,London, S.W.1, at 3.15 r.M. After the service, at 4.15 P.M.,there will be a meeting at the National Society, Great PeterStreet, S.W.I, when Dr. P. C. Gibson will be in the chairand the Rev. F. S. Sinker, M.B., will speak on CooperationBetween Doctors and Clergy. -

Dr. L. Guttmann, director of the Ministry of Pensions’ SpinalInjuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and consultant to theOxford Regional Hospital Board, is to deliver the first Fred H.Albee lecture at a conference on rehabilitation in paraplegia, tobe held at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, West Orange,New Jersey, on Oct. 10.

Births, Marriages, and Deaths

BIRTHSFAWKNER-CoRBETT.—On Oct. 1, at Lawn Edge, Meadowlands,

Havant, Hants, to Phyllis (nee Brumfit), wife of Dr. P. J,Fawkner-Corbett-a son.

HARRIS.—On Sept. 28, at Edgware General Hospital, to Sonia(nee Bilmes), wife of Dr. Wallace C. Harris-a son.

HOGARTH.—On Oct. 2, at The Clinic, London, to Harriette Ruth(nee Lewis), wife of Dr. J. C. Hogarth—a son.

LUNT.—On Sept. 29, to Penelope, wife of Mr. Randle Lunt,M.CH. ORTH.—a daughter.

PARKINSONT.—On Sept. 29, at King’s College Hospital, to Helen(nee Overton), wife of Dr. Charles F. C. Parkinson-a daughter.

MARRIAGESBOWSHER—REID.—On Sept. 27, at Liverpool, David Richard

Bowsher, M.B., to Anna Meryl Reid.PADDON—FORTESCUE.—On Sept. 20, at North West River,

Labrador, William Anthony Paddon, M.D., to Sheila MaryFortescue.

RocxLFy-MATTOCKS.—On Sept. 20, Gerald Joseph Rockley, M.B.,to Elisabeth Mary Mattocks.

RUGG-GUNN—COWAN.—On Oct. 1, at Salcombe Regis, Devon,Mark Andrew Rugg-Gunn, M.D., surgeon commander R.N.,to Patricia Mary Elizabeth Cowan.

DEATHSAITICEN.—On Oct. 2, at Clodiagh,’ Stanmore, James Aitken

M.A., M.B. Edin.HENDERSON.—On Sept. 29, at Ridgeway, Orchard Hill, Bideford,.

Devon, George Pouncey Henderson, M.D. Edin., aged 78.LINDSAY.—On Oct. 3, at Shortfurrows, 65, Whyteleafe Road,

Caterham. Surrey, Thomas Lindsay. nz.n.. p.R.c.s.E.MATTHEWS.—On Oct. 3, Edgar William Matthews, m.i3. Lond.,

D.p.H., of Oakingham, Bramber Road, Seaford, Sussex, aged 72.SHAW.—On Sept. 29, William Samuel Jagoe Shaw, M.D. Belf.,

lieut.-colonel, z.r2.s., retd., of Calcote House, Sandecotes Road,Parkstone, Dorset, aged 81.