to make sure nurses receive proper training in the psychological as well as the physical effects of trauma. DOT ANGELL: None of us had discussed it with anybody when we came back, because we were literally thrown just straight back into work. It was almost like we had been on a holiday in sunny Vietnam. Nobody had had the chance to debrief. SALLY SARA: The civilian nurses say former members of the surgical teams have suffered from increased rates of cancer, post-traumatic stress and other conditions similar to those experienced by former soldiers. But Dot Angell says the Government has failed to give nurses the same entitlements as those in uniform. DOT ANGELL: I think they are waiting for us to... you know, die. Then they won't have to worry about us. But, we are not going to go away. Our numbers are thinning -- and thinning now quite fast -- but we have to keep on at Government to make them realise that they cannot call for volunteers without recognising that as a Government, they have a duty of care to look after those people who volunteer to assist their country. SALLY SARA: David Brownbill is the former head of neurosurgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He joined the surgical team in Vietnam in 1966 as a young registrar. He says there were few supplies, poor facilities and a large number of patients. Dr Brownbill says many of the former nurses will carry the weight of their war experiences