A NEW ZEALAND HOSPITAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3245, 24 May 1916, Page 26

A NEW ZEALAND HOSPITAL.

.WORK OF DOCTORS AND NURSES. SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF WOUNDS AND DISEASE. From Malcolm Ross- Official War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces. CAIRO, March 29. When I first came upon it, it was full of wounded and sick from various parts of the Empire, and there was some uncertainty about its control and administration. When I saw it again, after months of war, it was just a little bit of Now Zealand—sick and sorry, bruised and battered, but still cheerful and optimistic—planted on fcho fringes of the famous city. A hospital in war-time -is not generally Bupposed to be a cheery place; but there was certainly no air of gloom about the New Zealand Hospital at Font de Koubbeh. Stricken down with disease and bombs and bullets and high explosives, men found their way thither and found it a haven of healing and rest—a calm and fjc-aceful oasis far removed from the noise and stress of war But a 3 you were carried down the valleys, and the long sap with the "red ticket" on you, and the germs of disease or a pointed Turkish bullet in you—or through you—there was no certainty where you would pull up for final treatment. Helped out of trench or bivouac, men would find themselves in some dressing station —often none too safe from shot and shell. Down from the deadly slopes of Chunuk Bair, along the sunken roads from Hill 60, through the saps from Quinn's and all the other well-remembered places, men were sent via the dressing stations to the casualty clearing stations, where they were liable to be hit again by bullet or blown to bits by high explosive. Thence they limped or were carried to the "beetles" or barges—on days when it was calm enough—and so on to the white-painted hospital ships at anchor a mile off-shore. In the beginning it was not all plain sailing and there were not enough hospital ships and not enough doctors and nurses. The toll on human life and limb in modern warfare had been greatly underestimated. But gradually all the deficiences were made good, and eventually little was lacking in the interests of the sick and wounded. To Alexandria it was a two or three days' journey. If your case was serious, you went into one of the big, well-equipped hospitals there. Other cases went on by hospital train to Cairo, and, from Keliopohs, an ambulance car took you to Font de Koubbeh, where, in what was before the war the Egyptian Army Hospital, you found yourself under the careful attention of New Zealand doctors, New Zealand nurses, and New Zealand orderlies, enjoying a diet that was almost a shock to your bully-beef ' digestion—and, above and beyond all, New Zealand butter! New Zealand was fortunate in getting a building designed and already equipped as a hospital. It is two-storeyed, with shady balconies, and spacious grounds, in which are tents for the overflow. In other hospitals, hurriedly improvised, both doctors and nurses had to work under less advantageous circumstances. * But here,_ again, the doficiences were remedied as quickly as possible. THE STAFF. The staff and the control of the hospital varied from time to time, till finally it worked up to a personnel for a hospital with 520 beds. But what with beds on the balconies and tents in the grounds there were at times accommodated between 800 and 1000 patients. The staff fdr a 500-bed hospital consists of a lieutenant-colonel in charge, two lieutenant-colonels, five majors, 12 captains, a quartermaster, and sergeants, corporals, and men for ward and general duties The nursing staff consists of a matron, 16 sisters, and 26 staff nurses—43 in all. The staff was seldom up to this strength, yet it carried on the work practically of a 1000-bed hospital at times. The medical and surgical staff was a highly competent one, while too much praise could scarcely be bestowed upon the self-sacrificing energy and devotion of the highly-trained New Zealand nurses. An ophthalmic surgeon belonging to r.ho R.A.M.C. visited the hospital once a week for consultations. There* were about 120 orderlies in the establishment, and, in addition to these, over 60 native servants were employed in menial work in and about the hospital. THE POST OFFICE. Attached to the hospital is a post office, which is a great convenience. In the tent which accommodates it as many as 16,000 letters are dealt with in a week. Between 20 and 30 sacks of newspapers arrive per week—that is, when the ships can bring them. Three officers censor the letters. There are six men employed in the post office, one man being conhirmously employed in redirecting letters to 10 other hospitals and convalescent camps. SOME STATISTICS. During last year the admissions to the hospital numbered 6506 —115 officers and 6391 other ranks. These were not all New Z-ja-landers, a certain number of English and Australian officers and men .having in that time passed through the hospital. By far the larger number of cases were cases of _ sickness, the number reaching the high figure of 5325 sick as compared with 1181 wounded. A large num ber of New Zealand wounded, especially in the earlier stages of the fighting, received treatment in the numerous other hospitals in Alexandria and Cairo, and mesfc of the Berious eases returning from the battlefield were not taken past Alexandria. The deaths in the hospital had been remarkably few. No officer had (lied of wounds, and only one from sickness. There had been 32 deaths of men from sickness and only 10 from wounds. Tiie greater number of deaths from wounds had of course occurred on the battlefield in the dressing and clearing stations, and on the hospital ships. There had been over 200 operations for gunshot wounds and Complications, 35 for hernia, 30 for appendicitis, 4-2 for varicose veins of varied nature, and 27 for haemorrhoids. There had been 120 minor operations in addition to a large number of abdominal operations. NEW ZEALAND WOMEN'S WORK. An inspection of the hospital ut Font do Koubbeh reveals two facts that make a deep

impression upon the mind of the visitor—the wonderful amount of industry and the warm-hearted generosity displayed by the women of New Zealand. In so far as bedding and clothing are concerned, this hospital has been practically equipped by them. Almost the only thing that nas had to be purchased here is a supply of blankets. Some blankets have been sent from New Zealand, and, needless to say, their quality is decideclly superior to the English article purchased elsewhere. The New Zealand women have sent garments worked by their own hands pyjamas, underclothing, socks, cholera belts, shirts, slippers, hospital suits, etc. 'fable and bed linen have also come to hand in large quantities. Another thing that surprises one is the general excellence" not only of the work, but of the material employed. Money has also been sent out most liberally for the comfort and entertainment of the patients. Individual nurses have received as much as £SO to be spent in this way. In the case of men returning to New Zealand on troopships, the matron packs- a kit-bag for each individual. The contents often include warm Cardigan jackets, and even dressing-gowns for the cot cases. In regard to men returning in tho hospital ships, there is not the same necessity to cater for the comfort of the voyagours, for the hospital ships themselves are very well supplied with the various necessaries and comforts for tho homeward voyage. One of the sisters summed up the position in regard to the excellent work that has been done when she remarket!: "I think it is amazing." SHADOWGRAPHS AND StURGERY. One of the most interesting corners of a modern military hospital is that in which the X-ray expert docs his work. Tho New Zealand Hospital is quite up to date in this respect. Bullets and bits of shell and bombs and siirapnel are located with wonderful and uncanny accuracy. By this means not only is the patient saved a great deal of exploratory cutting, that would in many cases be necessary in the olden times, but ho is even, in some cases, saved the necessity for operation altogether. The deeper in the bullet is the harder it is to locate, and the outer wound is oftrfn no index as to the exact locality in which the bullet may be lying, for bullets are frequently deflected in strange ways. The pointed bullet coming at a high velocity generally goes right through, and makes a clean wound, but sometimes it turns round after impact and tears tho tissue and breaks the bone, leaving an ugly wound. This it is that_ has no doubt given rise to the many stories about the Turks using explosive bullets—stories that were, of course, quite inaccurate. The most dangerous wounds come from bits of shell and bombs, end from shrapned bullets, which are apt to carry in bits of dirt and clothing that the pointed bullet leaves behind. There is a general disposition nowadays to leave in the body bullets that are not likely to give trouble, and to lot Nature do the healing without further disturbance of the tissue by the surgeon's knife. After this war there will be thousands and thousands of men walking about quite unconcernedly with bits of iron and bullets in them. In the shadowgraphs you see these bits of bullets and bits of iron quite clearly, in all sorts of strange positions and places. The X-ray man is quite proud of some of these negatives. There is one with splinters widely scattered below the. knee. There is another of bits of bone in a Maori's hand. A third—rather a nasty one—is a Christmas Day present from the Scnussi. Amongst a number taken in the days when tho wounded were pouring in after the historic landing at Anzac is a fine negative with an arrow pencilled in above what was thought to be a fracture in a skull. Tho X-ray man dwells upon this one because it is" a fine negative—suprisir.gly good to have been taken with the primitive apparatus installed in the early days of the hospital. There are 200 beds in tho hospital reserved for surgical cases requiring special attention. Minor cases are accommodated in tents. At the time of my visit there were some 800 patients in tho hospital, and seven in a convalescent annexe at Hehopolis. Some of the New Zealand convalescents were also sent, to Luxor and Hcloan, and Lady Godley's, Home took in others. At Port Said there was a camp for convalescent enteric patients, where they waited till they could be sent back to New Zealand, and at Suez a rest camp, where other New Zealand-bound patients could be sent. iSo far as very bad surgical cases are concerned, they are, of course, dealt with very much nearer the firing line than Cairo—some on the hospital ships, while many of the more serious cases, both of disease and wounds, were conveyed to other hospitals at Alexandria. Most of the cases are gunshot wounds, but quite a number arc tho result of accidents. Operations were also necessary as the result of septic sores and wounds, surface infections, and abscesses. Some healed quickly; others wcr o delayed in their healing through blood poisoning, associated with the life we led on Gallipoli. Debility, flies, and dirt played their parts. There were a large number of operations for appendicitis, hernia, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids. In the winter, cases of trenchfoot and a few case? of real frostbite turned up. There were, however, no amputations from these causes in the New Zealand Hospital. Treneh-foot is usually caused by interference with the circulation, due to swelling of the limbs as tho result of standing for lengthy periods in cold and wet without removing the boots. As a rule, the cases stopped short of gangrene. During the hot weather, operations were carried on at a disadvantage, but by starting at 6 a.m., before tho heat became intense, and by scrupulous attention to aseptic technique, the results attained were very satisfactory. Indeed, the recoveries and the rapidity of healing compared _ favourably with the results attained in civil hospitals under the best conditions. There was a very low death rate from enteric in its varied forms of typhoid and paratyphoid alpha and beta. At one stncyi thcr<> was an epidemic of jaundice. Cases of pneumonia, enteritis, mid rheumatism came into tho hospital, but there were no case?, of cholera or typhus. Malaria and mild fever?, of an obscure character—dengue, in - flucn/.n, neurasthenia, and debility claimed attention. N"!" - nsth'-nia wns generally attributable to shock from high explosives and debility. TDK CULINARY DEPARTMENT. Few people have any idea of the enormous quantities of provision* consumed in a. hospital that accommodates from 800 to 1000 patients. Tho supplies required for the New Zealand Hospital reached their maximum in December. I [eve are a few interesting figures:—Eggs, 80,000; bread,

18,547 loaves; beef, 16081 b; mutton, 79971 b; chickens, 3644; milk, 21.833 litres; vegetables, 60341 b. In Egypt there is, fortunately, a wonderful supply of _ eggs and poultry—a necessity in any hospital. The country exports millions of eggs, but since the war started the army has made big inroads on tho local supply, and the export has decreased proportiorately. New Zealand butter was a great luxury, and there seemed to be no difficulty about the supply. Tho British Red Cross and Order of St. John had a kitchen in the hospital, and indefatigable lady workers did excellent service in the cooking of delicacies and light foods for the sick and wounded. Numerous gifts, of course, found their way to the hospital from New Zealand and elsewhere, and were greatly appreciated.