HOSPITALS IN ITALY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25442, 25 January 1944, Page 2

HOSPITALS IN ITALY

PERIOD OF INTENSE ACTIVITY EXPERIMENTAL USE OF NEW DRUG (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) CAIRO, Jan. 20. As a rule the satisfaction derived by hospital staffs from a period of intense activity has a somewhat melancholy tinge, for their work comes as a bitter corollary to the battlefield’s sombre demands. One New Zealand hospital situated towards Bari, however, looks back with pride on its record of the past weeks during which it not only cared for large admissions of wounded and sick, but also went on with the unusual necessity of virtually building a hospital around the patients. , Although the two large buildings being used for the hospital were originally designed for that purpose, they were only partially completed, and ‘ hundreds of workmen are still putting the finishing touches on. The patients do not seem to mind the presence of the workmen, for they add interest to the normal routine. After the appalling conditions of the front line a hospital comes as a change to the wounded. This hospital has the distinction of being one of those chosen for the experimental use of a new “ wonder drug,” pennicillin, which is now being largely used with gratifying results. A Scottish pennicillin specialist has been attached for some time to the hospital for special research work. One of the last war’s most common ailments—trench feet—has again made an appearance following front-line winter conditions. The evacuation of patients from the front to the hospitals is a far greater problem here than in the desert, but the fastest possible means of transport are used. , The New Zealand hospital, in common with others, had a very busy time after the heavy raid against Bari Harbour last month, when dozens of patients were treated for burns, cuts, effects of blast, and immersion in water. The hospital authorities are proud of the splendid manner in which New Zealand nurses and V.A.D.’s worked at this time.'