Western Front: treatment of the wounded Flashcards
What organisation was responsible for medical care on the Western Front?
The RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps)
How many men did the RAMC have in 1914?
9,000
How many men did the RAMC have by 1918?
113,000
How was the RAMC able to recruit more doctors during the war?
It raised the age at which doctors could serve abroad to 45
What process of looking after the wounded did the RAMC run on the Western Front?
The chain of evacuation
What was the main body of military nurses in 1914 called?
The Queen Alexandra’s nurses
How many Queen Alexandra’s Nurses were there by the end of the First World War?
10,000
Give three examples of jobs nurses would do to support the British army
Any three from:
Professional nursing in operating theatres
Scrubbing floors
Cooking
Washing clothes
Repairing broken-down motor vehicles
Who were the VADs on the Western Front?
Volunteer Aid Detachment: middle- and upper-class nurses
How did nurses use their ambulances on the Western Front?
They took food and spare clothes to the front line
In what year did Britain start recruiting volunteer nurses?
1916
What was the name of the motorised bath vehicle with ten collapsible baths used by nurses?
James
How many men per hour could have a bath in the nurses’ mobile bath vehicle?
40
How many stretcher bearers were there per battalion of 1,000 soldiers on the Western Front?
16 stretcher bearers
How many stretcher bearers were needed to carry a stretcher?
Four (6-8 in the mud)
What problems did stretcher bearers have to deal with when rescuing the wounded?
Heavy gun fire, mud, shell-craters and twisting trenches
What medical care was offered by stretcher bearers?
Bandages and basic pain relief
Where would stretcher bearers take the wounded?
The Regimental Aid Post (RAP)
How far was the RAP behind the front line?
No more than 200 metres
What role did the battalion regimental medical officer play at the RAP?
They distinguished between the lightly wounded and those needing more medical attention
How advanced was the medical treatment at the RAP?
Very basic - dressings, biscuits for sugar, brandy to warm up the patient, morphine for pain relief
What was set up in the Field Ambulance to receive the wounded from the RAP?
Dressing Stations
Where were dressing stations often located?
In tents or disused buildings
What process took place at the dressing stations, and what was this?
Triage - sorting the wounded into groups according to who needed the most urgent attention
How far were the dressing stations from the front line?
Between 1/4 of a mile and one mile
Where were serious cases taken after the dressing stations?
The Casualty Clearing Stations
How far away was the Casualty Clearing Station from the front line?
7-12 miles
How many doctors would be at the typical Casualty Clearing Station?
Seven
Give THREE examples of facilities available at a Casualty Clearing Station
Any three from:
Operating theatres
Mobile X-ray machines
Beds for 50 men
Kitchens
Toilet blocks
How many casualties at a time could a Casualty Clearing Station deal with?
1,000
Where were wounded soldiers taken after the Casualty Clearing Station?
The Base Hospital
Where were Base Hospitals often located near and why?
Railways - patients could arrive by train
How many patients could base hospitals take at a time by 1918?
2,500
Give THREE examples of facilities found at a base hospital
Any three from:
Operating theatres
Laboratories for identifying infections
X-ray departments
Specialist centres for treating victims of gas poisoning
Where were most patients sent from the Base Hospital?
Back to England
What was the overall aim of the chain of evacuation?
To ensure as many soldiers as possible could return to the front line having passed only as far down the chain of evacuation as necessary
