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H.S. " Oranjc " : The very generous ofier of the Netherlands Government to provide a fully equipped and serviced hospital ship for the evacuation of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers has been accepted by the Commonwealth and Dominion Governments. Arrangements have been made by the Australian and New Zealand Army Medical Services to provide personnel for the purposes of liaison duty. It is estimated that this hospital ship will be ready for service before the end of June and will have accommodation for 650 patients. The New Zealand Expeditionary Force will be entitled to approximately one-third of this. CAMP HOSPITALS. In addition to the camp hospitals established at Papakura, Trentham, and Burnham in 1939-40, the following permanent camp hospitals have been established : — Waiouru . . .. .. .. .. .. 100 beds. Narrow Neck .. .. . . . . .. 19 beds. Fort Dorset .. .. .. .. .. 19 beds. Female Staff. A commencement has been made in employing female domestic labour in camp hospitals. Medical Pool. A medical " pool " has been established at the Camp Hospital, Trentham, for the special technical training of home-service medical personnel before being drafted to the various camp hospitals. Permanent regimental aid posts have been established in all mobilization camps, fortress troops depots, and with Territorial units. Medical orderlies with the rank of corporal.are being drafted to these R.A.P.s for duty. CD. Hospitals and P.A. Huts. The contagious-diseases hospitals in the three mobilization camps are now complete and are functioning most satisfactorily. All personnel of the Army and Air Force suffering from venereal disease in each district arc treated there. The percentage of cases has been extremely small and the stay of each, patient in hospital has averaged under fourteen days. This may be attributed to the educational lectures given the troops, P.A. huts, and modern treatment. MEDICAL STORES. Owing to the great expansion of the New Zealand forces for home defence and overseas, it has been necessary to take over the medical equipment from Ordnance. In November, 1940, a large warehouse in Wellington was taken over for this purpose. The new system is working satisfactorily. As part of the scheme in connection with the medical stores, arrangements have been made to establish sub-depots of medical stores at Christchureh and a reserve depot at Palmerston North. The necessity for a sub-depot at Auckland is also under consideration. HOME DEFENCE. With the expansion of the Territorial and home-defence programme the following additional units have been formed :— No. 8 Field Ambulance (Army Reserve). 3 Mounted Rifles Field Ambulance Companies. 4 Motor Ambulance Convoys. 4 Hygiene Sections. Nos. 9, 10, 11 Field Ambulance Companies for fortress troops, formed from men of the National Military Reserve. ■ MEDICAL TRAINING DEPOT. A Medical Training Depot has been established at Trentham for the purpose of training officers and N.C.O.s of the Medical Territorial and other home-defence units and officers and N.C.O.s and men of the New Zealand Medical Corps for overseas service. With a view to ensuring that matters pertaining to sanitation and hygiene should be given full attention, an officer of the Department of Health has been attached for whole-time service to the Staff of Army Headquarters as Deputy Director of Hygiene. MEDICAL OFFICERS, TERRITORIAL AND OVERSEAS. Considerable difficulty has been encountered in obtaining a sufficiency of medical officers for both overseas and Territorial service. The National Medical Committee of the Organization for National Security have been advised of the urgency of the position from time to time. Present indications are that further difficulty will be encountered in securing sufficient medical officers for overseas service. In regard to Territorial service, many medical practitioners, showing commendable public spirit, have given up their annual holidays and entered camp for various periods from a month upwards in order to render service.

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