New Britain herald., 1924-07-11
MEDICAL SYSTEM IS
 FOUND DEFECTIVE
Errors Ol British Medical Services
 Pointed Out

London, July ll,--Lsssens iron
 slas of emission and otherwise, il
 the medical services during the war
 have been compiled into an II vol,
 ums edition of the onieisl Medical
 History of the Great War, recently
 issued, They should furnish the
 basis for the reorganization of the
 msdral staffs Of the forces of inc
 great powers on 8 level with modern
 science. say the editors Of this yo-
 luminous work,
 The books deal frankly with the
 tactical and straiegieal errors Of the
 medical service in ihe war, notably
 m areas typical of middle eastern
 conditions No attempt has been
 made 10 gloss these errors The
 lack Of cooperation between the eem-
 bstant and medical staffs is fires
 quently noted, and it is in this that
 the editors md the greatest lesson.
 Although in some respects faulty
 administration was a factor in the breakdown Of the medical services in the Dsrdanslles, Mesopotamia and
 East Africa. the chief lesson to be learned from the study of these cam raiEns, say the editors. Is the need Of close lisisen between the medical administration and the general staff from the outset, and clear and def- mite preparations before the cam- raisn is begun 10 meet all possible contingencies, Too often In the last var the medical service was found to be totally inadequate because the medical stnffs had. no clear idea of what was 10 be expected of them, or the possible extent Of the campaign upon which they were engaged.
 The Dardanelles operations was an example. it Is shown, Of the neces- sity for establishing large general | hospitals near the scene Of operations | and for providing a sufficient num- Der of steamers and small craft for the evacuation of sick and wounded when the fighting takes place on or near watey.
 Tn Macedonia the dominant feature was warfare in mountainous country or in river valleys. the hotbeds of malaria. In this sector the percent age of hospital beds to the numbers of troops reached the largest propor- ton. that of one in three. Malaria was rampant here and, while the medical service was handicapped by lack of scientific knowledge, 1t also failed to protect the troops by lack of proper equipment on the spot
 The medical administration in Mes opotamia during the early period of the campaign was dulled by many years of economy practicing in peace :. ine in India. This explains why the ambulance wagons and cars, hospital steamers and other equipment provid- T d for the services in France were not ' ,yen asked for by the headquarters of | he Indian Expeditionary Force. They we're unaccustomed to their use ! The most deplorable ineffiency was n the actions for the relief of Kut-el- | Imara. At that action the medical 2 ervice found itself with only IA sec o ions of field ambulances, instead of he authorized 30. When the opera ions toward kut were started no trenuous efforts had been made to al enforce the medical units or to pre- l. are plan for the evacuation of the ok and wounded. The battles of C haikh Sad. Wadi and Hanna still st emain nightmare to those who took 1; art in them. The wounded lay out M yer night and many died from ex- W osure. Those collected could not DE 3 properly housed or treated. They m ere evacuated to the base on any s1 'ailable boat and arrangements at asra for the disembarkation of the inforcing divisions were defective. hen the divisions arrived large con- 5y 'ys of sick and wounded were com- g down the Tigris. The steamers te ct at Basra and confusion prevailed. fiji 'ficers and men wandered about in UT ud trying to find their way to new da mps at Makina and Magil from CT que directions given them by other St erworked officers. oh
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