World War, 1914-1918 -- Canada; World War, 1914-1918 -- Nova Scotia
Medical attention is required all the way from the recruiting and
training camps at home, and those in England and France and along the
lines of communication, up to the front areas and fighting Units in the
firing line, No Man’s Land and the hand-to-hand encounter in the enemy
trenches. But perhaps the function of the Medical Service which calls
for the greatest vigilance and most thorough care is the prevention and
control of epidemic and contagious diseases.
The most strenuous efforts of the Medical Services are exerted to rescue
the man who is wounded in action, and to give him such prompt attention
as will prevent him, as far as possible, from bleeding to death or dying
from shock or exposure and to hasten him to a place where the best
surgical skill can be exercised to save his life and limbs.
The primary aid is under the direction of the Regimental Medical Officer
who is assisted by sixteen stretcher-bearers and two orderlies whom it
is his duty to keep in a constant state of efficiency by careful
training, as unskilled men, during active operations, are constantly
being added from the ranks to make up wastage. One Nova Scotia Regiment
lost thirty-three per cent. of its stretcher-bearers in two hours in the
Vimy Ridge engagement.
This little coterie goes into the trenches with the Unit. The Regimental
Medical Officer selects a Regimental Aid Post (R.A.P.) well to the front
and as far as possible out of the direct line of enemy fire, so that the
wounded may be safely cared for and promptly evacuated. The
stretcher-bearers are detailed four to each Company, and these go with
their Companies into action and accompany them wherever they go. They
are the most exposed men in an engagement; for while the combatants may
advance in rushes and seek shelter as they go, the stretcher-bearer is
constantly exposed, going back and forth to the relief of the wounded.
As a result of the efficiency these men attain, their dressings, applied
on the battle-field during action, often can go untouched until they
reach the hospital.
At the Regimental Aid Post further treatment is given by the Regimental
Medical Officer, food and hot tea or coffee are given and the wounded
are rolled in blankets and made as comfortable as possible before being
sent out. All cases are tagged, usually a white tag showing the man’s
name, number, Regiment, the nature of his injury, and any special
treatment or remedies that may have been given. In dangerous cases a red
tag is used, which secures the right of way in rapid evacuation and
immediate attention.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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