HOSPITAL TRAIN DUTY.

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume X, Issue 1, 1 January 1917, Page 12

HOSPITAL TRAIN DUTY.

By Sister Cherry, N.Z.A.N.S.

While our ship was undergoing repairs m Southampton Dock, we were borrowed by the A.D.M.S. for train duty. It was during* the big push m France, early m July, and as I had crossed the Channel three times during that week bringing back some thousands of wounded, I knew only too well what the train work must be. Sister B and I were told off together, 8.30 a.m. We found we were

to take 500 cot cases to Aberdeen. We were naturally delighted with the news< We were introduced to the medical officer m charge, shown our own carriage, and asked to remain there till embarkation was completed. Then taking half the train each, we learnt the condition of the patients, as well as the routine of the hospital. It is an understood thing that only dressings which are really necessary are redressed during the journey. When a train is travelling at sixty miles an hour, with a clear line m front, the act of dressing large serious wounds, particularly fractures and amputations, is not by any means an easy one to accomplish. It means every possible scrap of pluck the boy possesses, and every possible care and atom of patience the nurse is capable of. The train, racing and swaying, makes the use of forceps an impossibility as well as a danger. One must trust to their antiseptics. With your two feet planted firmly on the floor, knees jammed tight against the bed board, elbow, if possible, against the outer wall, you commence to work. The lotions swim over the edge of the bowl, and the purpose of every other swab is lost . The difficulty is increased for the patients m the top bunk. Standing on a box, elbows gripping the inside of the bedrail, head touching the roof, and Sister B holding me tightly at the back, I found the greatest dificulty m keeping my hands steady, and myself from overbalancing on to the top of the patient With one orderly holding the dressings and another supporting the patient, the deed is at last accomplished, and all heave a great sigh of thankfulness. The Sisters are responsible for the diets of the helpless patients, and also the general overlooking of all patients food. This particular journey to Aberdeen lasted eighteen hours with only one rest station, Birmingham. The Red Cross people there were very good to us, especially when they learned we were New Zealanders. Several times during the next fortnight I visited Birmingham, and each time a real welcome awaited us. It was not what I would call hard work, but certainly tiring. We were no sooner back from one trip than we were off on another. All were both day and night journeys. I visited Manchester several times, Leeds, Aintree,

Stoke- on- Trent, etc. Sometimes we were disembarking at midnight, and frequently between three and five m the early morning The return trip, with an empty train, was like one mad race. I sometimes wondered if it would be possible to travel faster. Bridges were crossed, tunnels pierced ; we passed through smoky towns and pretty villages, catching a glimpse of green fields and high waving corn, shady lanes and wild bright flowers, till twilight crept into night and sleep of a sort came to tired eyes and head. In the early hours of the morning, with one shrill scream and mighty jerk, the engine came to a standstill, and you realised you were safely back m the dock. Breakfast and a much-needed hot bath, and we were ready for the road again. It gave us a chance to see much of England that we certainly would not have otherwise. It was also an experience, and enabled us to help with the work when the need was so great . One month later we lay at anchor m the Persian Gulf — the heat absolutely intense. The green trees of England, cold fresh winds and thick, white fog are like a dream that is past.