FIELD HOSPITALS

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 August 1940, Page 10

FIELD HOSPITALS

A DOCTOR’S COMPLAINT. A complaint that no assistance of any kind has been received from the New Zealand Red Cross or the patriotic funds was made by a doctor attached to a New Zealand field hospital in Egypt, in a letter to a friend in Invercargill. The complaint was referred by the “Southland Times” to Mr G. A. Hayden, secretary of the National Patriotic Fund Board, who has replied detailing the sums of money and the quantity of goods which have been sent to the New Zealand Forces in Egypt. Writing on July 17 from a New Zealand field hospital, the doctor stated:—

“I don’t quite get the idea of,such huge collections for Red Cross work. They won’t do anything for us. I can’t even get a few books for the patients in hospital to read. The last week the British Red Cross came to light with some lockers for the beds and a wireless set. For the latter we cannot get wire for an aerial even. Forty pounds would cover the whole lot. So don’t waste money giving to them when it is the Government’s job to look after us/ Heaven knows who pockets the. money—certainly not us.”

PATRIOTIC BOARD’S REPLY.

The following reply to these statements was made by Mr Hayden:— “On June 10 Mr.V. C. Jones, who ’ is the senior Y.M.C.A. secretary in ; Egypt, and who is also acting as. representative of the National Patriotic Fund Board pending the arrival of Lieutenant-colonel F. Waite, and who ; has £BOOO sterling available for com- ; forts for the troops generally, sub- ; mitted a comprehensive report of the ; work he has been doing. The follow- - ing extracts will interest you:-— < “Every Sunday there is a distribu- ■ tion of cigarettes .to each man in the base hospital. Three thousand were : handed out yesterday, and very near- j ly as many to the field hospital. This is done in the name of the Patriotic 1 Board. . . Some recreational equipment has been bought for the men at the Discharge Depot. . . Also weekly 1 transportation for convalescents for a : drive round! “On July 9 we forwarded £5OOO to 1 Lord Somers, the British Red Cross ! ' Commissioner in Egypt, to be used for 1 providing medical comforts for men a

of the N.Z.E.F. in the Middle East, with the instruction that this was to be utilised in conjunction with the assistant director of medical services,

N.Z.E.F., Cairo. In addition,'as published, we have forwarded £lO,OOO to the United Kingdom for the same purpose. “In addition to the above we forwarded with the Second Echelon 103 cases of goods for use in Egypt. As you are aware, the Second Echelon was diverted and reached the United Kingdom, together with all the gdods 'which were meant for distribution in Egypt. This was unfortunate, but unavoidable. I received word approximately one month ago, at 10.30 a.m., that a boat was leaving Wellington at 5 p.m. which would connect with a trans-shipment for Egypt, and we were successful in getting over 800 cases of goods on this boat. ■ i “You will see from the above that the National Patriotic-Fund Board has endeavoured to meet the position in regard to the care of the troops. It is rather unfortunate that your correspondent did not first contact the assistant director of medical services, who could have informed him of the - actual position.”,