The British Medical Association is sitting at Cheltenham, and on
Wednesday some very interesting facts were brought forward as to the position of the wounded in naval battles. Owing to the alterations in the structure of the ships, the old arrangements under which the wounded were at once carried down to the cockpit cannot be continued, and, in the opinion of Fleet-Surgeon C. Kirker, the most humane course, now adopted both by the French and Japanese, is to leave the wounded sailors to lie where they are until the action is over, and men can be spared to carry them down in ambulances, which it will take some mechanical skill to devise. A light sleigh on runners of his own device is now being tested previous to approval. The wounded are as safe on deck for a short time as elsewhere, and modern wounds do not cause dangerous loss of blood. It is essential, however, that each ship should have an operating-room, which at present is not included in the accepted designs. It appears that the general health of sailors in warships is good, iron being much better than wood for sanitation, but some improvements are greatly required, and should be attended to by the Admiralty at once, so that the sailor should be at least as well off in battle as the soldier. He is as much exposed, and he cannot retreat.
Previous page
