Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

DOCUMENTARY FILM NEWS 79 A NEW MEDICAL FILM reviewed by A DOCTOR last year there was the biggest epidemic of acute anterior poliomyelitis we have ever had in this country. At the height of that epidemic the Ministry of Health issued a 20-minute film Poliomyelitis 1947, to help general practitioners with early diagnosis of the illness. Thanks to the co-operation of the Central Office of Information projection service, that film was seen by 17,000 doctors and as many nurses in three weeks. The new film Polio Diagnosis and Management is a more ambitious film intended to be completed in time for any possible epidemic in this or future years. With digressions, it tells the story of a young man who gets acute anterior poliomyelitis and is treated and finally returns to work. The film starts with tables showing the amount of the illness in various places of recent years and goes on to mention how in a family some have merely fever and headache while others have the obvious illness with paralysis. Then we see a young man visit his doctor's surgery; the doctor gives him aspirin and sees him next day; suspects poliomyelitis and calls the Medical Officer of Health; he examines him and removes him to hospital, explaining the outlook to the family of the patient. The various types of muscle paralysis in this illness are demonstrated and the progress of the patient followed through to his building-up exercises and finally his return to work, still under supervision. The film is designed for general practitioners and gives a good survey of the progress of a case with a suitable emphasis on the necessity of continuing treatment until and after the patient is back at work. It lasts 60 minutes and is very well photographed, directed and cut. When one comes to ask what it is for, then The still from the Polio film shows the Doctor testing the patient problems crop up. If it is designed as a documentary to arouse the interest of general practitioners, it is surely reasonable to answer that any good general practitioner learnt enough during the excitement of last year's epidemic to give him a good working knowledge of the disease for the next few years. If it is designed as an instructional film for young GPs, then it is wide open to criticism. As a patient I expect if I go to a GP complaining of a pain in the neck, he will examine my neck to see what is the matter with it: actually I expect that at any first visit my doctor will ask me to take off my shirt and lie down to be properly From the new Crown monthly release 'School in Cologne' examined. In this film, the patient at the surgery is sent home without any proper examination; the next day the GP gives a cursory examination without testing the knee jerks with a hammer, and calls in the MOH who makes a rather inconsequent examination. Then we have repetitive sequences on thedamages to various muscles. The film is an example of the short-sighted economy of the film makers at the Central Office of Information. One does not expect the Ministry of Health to know how to make good teaching films. One does expect the COI to. Until they realize that to make a good teaching film you need a good teacher as well as a good film director and a good technical expert, the chances of getting good teaching films from COI will remain low. There is at present no need for a documentarv on acute anterior poliomyelitis for doctors. There is quite a good case for one for the public. Last year's film had bad titles but said two or three things about early diagnosis clearly and left time for discussion. The early parts of this year's film are like any US film. The shots of a lecturer and of his chart arc not film, the} are film strip material. But what is needed from COI is a number of shorter, more modest films on the common illnesses, rheumatism, tuberculosis, whooping cough, and so on. The film is an expensive medium and in our impoverished condition we cannot afford yet to deal intensively with a rare maladv such as acute anterior poliomyelitis. Diagnosis and Management will be a useful and popular addition to the films for general practitioners. The Film * Polio Diagnosis and Management. 1948. Made by Crown 1 ilm I nit. DirecttM Gccffieg Innev Photography: Jonah Jones.