Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Part 2

_Hospital s.h.i.+ps._--These were numerous and some especially well arranged. Fig. 10 is of the 'Simla,' a P. & O. vessel which was admirably adapted to the requirements of a hospital s.h.i.+p. On her main deck some 250 patients were accommodated in a series of wards all on the same level, which much lightened the difficulties of service usually experienced. During the present campaign the abundance of transport vessels rendered the trans.h.i.+pment of patients to England a matter of comparative ease, and good vessels were always available. Considering the constant trans.h.i.+pment of invalids from India and our other colonial possessions, it would seem advisable that, in place of having to hurriedly improvise hospital s.h.i.+ps, the Government should possess two or three hospital s.h.i.+ps of the 'Simla' type. It is true this would deprive our naval transport officers of a duty which in this war was performed with extraordinary celerity and success; thus the 'Simla' was fitted in seven days, and sailed with a cargo of invalids ten days after her arrival at Durban; but on the other hand it would ensure that really suitable vessels were always provided.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 10.--P. & O. Hospital s.h.i.+p 'Simla' in Durban Harbour]

To give some idea of the amount of work contingent on the transport of wounded men from an army of some 15,000, fighting its way against continued opposition, I will quote the approximate number of men moved during Lord Methuen's advance from Orange River to Magersfontein. (The number of men actually present at each battle is shown in Table I., p.

12.)

Belmont, the first battle, was fought on November 23.

_November 24._--No. 2 hospital train removed 152 cases to the Stationary Field hospitals at Orange River, then returned and loaded up with 130 more. Some of the most severe cases in the latter were detrained at Orange River, and the remainder were taken direct to Wynberg (591-1/2 miles).

The division marched, and the battle of Graspan was fought during the day.

_November 26._--A train of specially constructed trucks brought 90 of the less severe cases, including 20 Boers, to Orange River.

_November 27._--The division marched, and in the morning No. 3 hospital train removed 80 severe cases from the Field hospitals direct to Wynberg.

_November 28._--Battle of Modder River.

_November 29._--339 patients, including a few sick, and some wounded Boers, were sent down to Orange River in open trucks with impromptu shelters made with rifles and blankets.

Later, 97 severe cases were sent down in ordinary carriages, of which some had doors sawn out to admit lying-down patients.

_December 10._--The division marched, and on the next day the battle of Magersfontein was fought.

_December 11._--Nos. 2 and 3 trains were loaded up during the night and early morning of the 12th, in part from the Field hospitals, in part directly from the Ambulance wagons. During the day of the 12th, No. 3 train made three journeys to Orange River, and No. 2 was sent direct to Wynberg.

In all some 800 patients needed transport; they were picked up by 10 ambulance wagons and 5 buck wagons for slighter cases and the two bearer companies sent out from Modder River. On the 12th Lord Methuen sent out a number of bearers with stretchers, and at 12 noon all the wounded were collected, but many had lain out through the night. The bearers had to retire under a sh.e.l.l fire kept up by the Boers as long as our army was within range of their position.

Four Field hospitals were present, but only that of the IX. Brigade at Modder River was so situated as to be of general use. This hospital, under the command of Major Harris, R.A.M.C., did an immense amount of work most expeditiously and with great success.

The nature of the advance on Kimberley necessitated the evacuation of the Field hospitals with extreme prompt.i.tude, as the troops were in constant action, and the arrangements for this were carried out with great success by Colonel Townsend, the P.M.O. of the First Division.

The amount of fighting far exceeded anything that had been expected, and the Stationary hospitals on the lines of communication at Orange River and De Aar were unable to cope with the number of severe cases thrown on their hands, with the constant possibility of new arrivals. Hence a number of severe cases had to be sent direct to Wynberg.

This experience strongly ill.u.s.trated the necessity of possessing Stationary hospitals of greater mobility and a higher degree of equipment than the service at present possesses. In these a large number of severe cases could have been retained, and only the slighter ones exposed to the fatigue and general disadvantage of transport. In South Africa very special difficulties existed in the length of the line of communication, the single line of rails, and the absence of any source of supply within 500 to 600 miles; but in any other country mobile Stationary hospitals, although more easily equipped, would be equally valuable.

The difficulties of transport experienced in the advance of the Kimberley Relief Force were many times multiplied in that upon Bloemfontein, since the whole of the severely wounded men had to be sent back thirty to forty miles to the railway. The ambulance accommodation on the occasion of this march, although, if untouched, proportionately smaller than that possessed by Lord Methuen, was reduced to one-fifth to meet the exigencies of warfare. Beyond this the equipment transport of the Field hospitals was reduced from four ox-wagons to two, and the Scotch cart was cut off, only two ox-wagons and the two water-carts being allowed. This greatly hampered the Field hospitals on the march, and when they arrived at Bloemfontein and had to undertake the work of Stationary hospitals, their efficiency was seriously impaired. Again, on the advance from Bloemfontein to Kroonstadt many of the Field hospitals were unable to accompany their respective divisions, not alone on account of the number of patients remaining in them, but also because the mule transport had been otherwise employed for military purposes.

The transport of the ambulances and hospitals stands in a very special position. As far as my experience went, neither ambulances nor hospitals were ever taken or retained by the Boers, and consequently the transport animals originally devoted to this purpose should have been held sacred to it.

_Hospitals._--Accommodation for the wounded was provided under canvas in the Field hospitals, also in the large General hospitals. Beyond this iron huts were erected in many of the Base and Station hospitals. At Capetown, Maritzburg, and Ladysmith barrack huts were modified and equipped as hospitals, and in towns such as Bloemfontein, Kimberley, and Johannesburg large civil hospitals were at our disposal. Beyond these sources of accommodation, churches, schools, public inst.i.tutions, and private houses were made use of in the smaller towns.

As to the broad question of canvas _v._ buildings, experience amply showed that in a climate such as is possessed by South Africa, canvas affords the greater advantages. The hospitals are more mobile, more readily extended, and the more healthy. Except under unusual conditions of rain and dust, the patients did excellently in the tents.

Rain and dust were occasionally most troublesome, especially when combined with wind. I once saw a whole hospital, fortunately unoccupied, levelled to the ground in the course of some twenty minutes. Under such circ.u.mstances iron huts present advantages, and were on many occasions utilised with much success. They are readily erected, and it would have been a considerable improvement if a number of them had been ready for use at the earliest part of the campaign. Except in the matter of weight, they possess in a considerable degree the advantage of mobility possessed by canvas, and in addition they offer much more protection from the weather. On the other hand, they are more liable to become unhealthy from prolonged use.

Churches and public inst.i.tutions were mainly troublesome from the necessity of having to improvise sanitary arrangements, and sometimes the disadvantage of the collection of a large number of men in one chamber could not be avoided. None the less I cannot look back without admiration on the temporary hospitals established in the Raadzaal at Bloemfontein, and the Irish hospital in the Palace of Justice in Pretoria.

The State schools in the smaller towns of the Orange River Colony also afforded excellent accommodation as small temporary hospitals.

Private houses, possessing the disadvantages of ill-adapted construction and the necessity of a considerably increased staff to work them, were on the whole little used as hospitals. The scattered farmhouses occasionally afforded shelter to very severely wounded men. In most of the country I traversed, however, the farms were so wide apart as to be of little use in this respect; and again, under the special circ.u.mstances, patients left in them might have to be abandoned to the enemy.

The chief interest during the campaign centred in the working of the Field and General hospitals.

Two types of Field hospital were employed, one the Home, the other the Indian. The latter differs from the Home in that in it the bearer company is attached and consists of Indian natives, and that the hospital is separable into four sections in place of two only.

The amalgamation of the Field hospital and bearer company into one unit is much to be desired in the Home service, both for economy of working and the more equal distribution of duties to the medical officers engaged. Again the divisibility of the hospital into four sections is also an advantage. It allows of the advance or the leaving of sections, in the case of either small expeditions or the presence of a number of severely wounded men unfit to travel. As far as I could judge, it necessitates very small addition to the present equipment, and is in every way desirable.

As to the working of the Field hospitals in the present campaign, it was universally acknowledged to possess a very high degree of excellence. The equipment, with small exceptions, proved equal to the demands made upon it. The mobility of the camps was proved again and again, and the rules governing their administration evidenced by their effectiveness the care and experience which have been bestowed on the organisation of the hospitals.

It is difficult for any one who has not had an opportunity of observing the actual amount of work performed in the Field hospitals either to appreciate the storm and stress following an important engagement when the wounded men are first brought in, or the demands that are made on the powers of the medical officers in charge. To a civilian the first feeling is one of impotence, followed by an attempt to see no further than the case under immediate observation, and to nurture the conviction that the work is to be got through if it is only stuck to. I gathered that this first impression was absent in the minds of the officers in charge of the Field hospitals, as work commenced at once, and was carried on without intermission during the persistence of daylight, in the winter often by the aid of lanterns, and eventually the huge task was accomplished. In early days at Orange River work commenced at 4 A.M., and was steadily continued until 6 P.M. or later, and this state of things persisted sometimes for many days together.

The officers of the Field hospitals, the bearer companies, and those doing regimental duty carried out their duties with a calmness and efficiency which not only impressed observers like myself, but also excited the admiration of our German colleagues sent by their government to observe the working of the British system.

I saw on several occasions the German and Dutch ambulances, and was much struck by the excellence of their equipment. In some details there was much to be learned from them, especially in the matter of appliances, dressings, and instruments. The Dutch ambulance I saw at Brandfort had a complete installation of acetylene gas, which was carried, gasometer and all, in one Scotch cart. They were, however, really designed to fill the combined position of our Field, Stationary, and General hospitals, and when it became necessary for them to move about frequently, the inferior mobility they possessed in comparison with our own Field hospitals was at once demonstrated.

The large General hospitals of 500 beds were a great feature in the campaign. Although designed and organised some time since, the present was the first occasion on which they have come into general use, and they may be said to have actually been on trial. The organisation of these hospitals proved itself excellent, and in the case of the best of them left little to be desired.

In some cases the accommodation was temporarily strained enormously, and the number of patients was extended beyond more than three times the regulation limit. The additional patients were then accommodated in marquees and bell tents, according to the nature of their diseases.

Under these circ.u.mstances the working of the hospitals was difficult, and the officers both of the R.A.M.C. and the civilian surgeons were placed at a great disadvantage.

My s.p.a.ce does not allow me to give any description of the general arrangement of these hospitals, but I would suggest that a certain number of them should be so modified as to increase their mobility and allow of their being more readily utilised as Stationary hospitals.

During the whole campaign it seemed to me that the Stationary hospitals (that is to say, the hospitals necessary to receive patients when the Field hospitals were rapidly evacuated), were those in which some increased uniformity of organisation was most needed.

It scarcely needs to be pointed out that this is the most difficult link of the whole hospital chain to be uniformly well organised and equipped.

It is needed at short notice, and often for a short period, and it is difficult to maintain a regular staff of officers ready for any emergency without keeping a certain number of men idle.

The conversion of Field hospitals to Stationary purposes is undesirable, as the troops move with only a regulation number of the former, which under ordinary circ.u.mstances is the minimum that may be necessary.

Stationary hospitals as individual units are undesirable for the reasons above given.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 11.--Type of a General Hospital (No. VIII.

Bloemfontein) extended by use of bell tents in the distance. (Photo by Mr. C. S. Wallace)]

The difficulty might be met by increasing the mobility of a certain number of the General hospitals, by making them divisible into five sections, each of which should be able to move independently, and to the last of which should be attached the heavy part of the equipment, such as the iron huts for operating and X-ray rooms, kitchens, store sheds, &c. The tents might also be lightened by the subst.i.tution of the tortoise tent for the service marquee. The tortoise tent is lighter (360 as against 500 lbs.), easily pitched and moved, and holds at least two more patients with ease. The capabilities of this tent were amply proven during its use by the Portland, Irish, and other civil hospitals attached to the army. It withstood wind and weather, the former better than the service marquee. Figs. 11 and 12 show the appearance of camps composed of the two varieties. I must admit a warm preference for the appearance of the service pattern, but I think it is indubitable that the other is the more useful.

Given the possibility of division of a General hospital in this manner, single sections could readily be sent up the lines of communication to serve as Stationary hospitals at various points behind the advance of the troops, and on the cessation of active need, the sections could be reunited at any point to form an advanced Base hospital. The sections could be kept in touch throughout by visits from the officer of the lines of communication. This would appear a ready means of providing well-organised Stationary hospitals at short notice, and would save the disadvantage of a definitely separate series.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 12.--Type of Tortoise Tent Hospital. Portland Hospital, Bloemfontein. (Photo by Mr. C. S. Wallace)]

Such hospitals might have been used on many occasions when the transport of an entire General hospital was an impossibility. The service, moreover, has some experience in this direction, since at one time No. 3 General Hospital was divided into two definite sections.

Bearing in mind the extreme readiness and prompt.i.tude with which the officers during the present campaign extended the accommodation of either Field or General hospitals, one of such sections as are proposed might readily be made far more capacious than its regulation number would suggest.

My duties being entirely in connection with the service hospitals, I did not become intimately acquainted with any of the volunteer hospitals which did such excellent service, except the Portland, to the staff of which I was indebted for much hospitality and kindness. This hospital was practically of about the capacity proposed for the above-mentioned sections, and the report of its work will no doubt furnish many points of detail as to equipment, &c., which may be useful.

The general results of the surgical work done during the campaign were excellent, and taken as a whole the occurrence of any severe form of septic disease was unusual.