A Nurse's Life in War and PeaceLaurence, E. C. (Eleanor Constance)
History
A Nurse's Life in War and Peace
Laurence, E. C. (Eleanor Constance)
Military nursing; Nursing -- Great Britain; South African War, 1899-1902 -- Medical care
One Sunday evening I was in chapel when I heard some one come to the
door, and then the porter came to fetch me, and at the door I found one
of the dressers who told me there was a bad compound fracture in the
surgery, and the house surgeon would be glad if I would come, as he
wanted to give an anæsthetic. When I got there I found a crowd of men
all standing round a poor little dog with a badly crushed leg! so we got
some suitable splints, and they gave it an anæsthetic and put up the
fracture; then they sent word to the male accident ward to get a
fracture bed ready for a patient, and the porters were secured to carry
it along on a big stretcher. It was in the hospital for some weeks, and
got quite well again.
Just before Christmas the Matron was obliged to go home for a time, so
once more I was asked to go on duty as assistant matron. Christmas is
always a busy time all over the hospital, and in the office (with the
Matron away) we had more than enough to do--so many presents to receive
and acknowledge and distribute, and many visitors to show round, &c.
Then, after Christmas, a good many nurses got ill (some with influenza),
and every one seemed to be wanting special nurses at the same time, and
all were quite hurt that I could not make new nurses to order.
So I was not sorry when the sister of the nicest ward in the hospital
told me that she had been appointed Matron of another hospital (she had
been here for years), and as she knew nothing of office work she wanted
to ask Matron if she would have her in the office for a few weeks'
experience. I thought it would mean that I should go back to the front
surgery, and I was quite pleased, but instead of that, Matron wrote to
ask me to take over that sister's ward for a couple of months, as she
had not got a suitable sister ready to take it permanently (it is always
given to one of the seniors here); so I was still more pleased,
especially when I found that the pay was at the rate of £10 a year more
than for the other wards.
This is an awfully nice ward of thirty-two beds, in two divisions--one
for men, and one for women and children. It is chiefly for medical
cases, but there is a small theatre attached, and a good many abdominal
operations are done; there is also a private ward, to which the surgeons
can send any operation cases that need especial attention; and they have
special nurses.
In the wards I have a good staff, as it is always considered the most
acute ward in the hospital, and I can generally get an extra nurse if I
want, so I don't do much actual nursing myself, but there seem to be
doctors constantly going round whom I have to attend, and somehow I
always seem to be busy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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