Report of the Committee of the Portland Hospital.

  • Portland Hospital (South Africa). Committee.
Date:
1901
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report of the Committee of the Portland Hospital. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    Each medical officer had a square bell tent to himself, and except at the very beginning each sister had a tent to herself. A square bell tent has four corners, which enables the space to be economised, and by means of an upright pole of 6 feet in the doorway a great deal more head room is obtained than in an ordinary bell tent. The centre pole has sometimes a nasty way of going through the canvas and allowing the tent to subside. These tents are very good if lined. They weigh 80 lbs. All non-commissioned officers and men had their diets served to them in their wards on diet trays, as ordered by their medical officers. Diets for patients in hospital were of two kinds. At Rondebosch, where we were near abundant supplies, the regular hospital diets and extras were issued, and the military diet sheets used (see Appendix for Diet Sheets, and Diets and Extras, E, b, e, d). At Bloemfontein rations and extras were issued, and from these we devised a scale of diets and extras (sec Appendix E). As these were daily prescribed by the medical officers the sisters wrote down the instruc- tions in the ward book, and each made a summary of diets and extras ordered for her section, and sent this summar)' in to the steward, who then requisitioned accordingl}-. This question of diets and extras is a much debated question. In our opinion the military system of ordering diets, if properly carried out, is a most excellent one, but the number of meals is too few. We therefore arranged for a fourth meal at about 7 P.M. as a kind of light supper, which we found to answer exceedingly well. We were fortunate in having good cooks, but if men were obtainable for war hospitals who had been thoroughly trained in a combination of field and sick cooking, and who could adapt themselves to circumstances, a most useful and valuable addition could be made to the personnel. For local transport we had a couple of ambulances and some six to eight mules, as well as an American trap, a water cart, and riding horses. A light American General