Typical daily routine in an auxiliary military hospital.

[Guest flofrank]

I am new to this, so please help!

I am trying to research a typical day in the life of an auxiliary military hospital, especially from the point of a "trained nurse' and as a separate issue from the point of a VAD.

What work would each of them had? What hours they would have worked? What pay would they have received?

Thank you so much.

[squirrel]

Google: ScarletFinders

The site is the work of Sue Light a member of this Forum.

[Sue Light]

It's a big question, and I think would depend to a large extent on the size and staff make-up of the unit. Auxiliary hospitals ranged in size, roughly between 20 beds and 150 beds, so there would be lots of variables. Unlike VADs in the UK, the trained nurses employed by the Joint War Committee (BRCS/St. John) were paid. I don't have an official pay scale for them, but they were paid in line with other trained hospital staff and military nurses - i.e. between £40 and £60 a year plus free board and lodging and uniform allowances.

In all units other than the small convalescent homes, there was a requirement to have a trained nurse on duty at all times. In practice this often meant having just two trained nurses in the smaller hospitals, one for day duty and one at night. When one had a day off, or a holiday, the other would often be 'on call' on the premises or nearby, even if not actually working. If the Commandant was a nurse, she might take a turn in covering for off-duty times. But invariably there were a lot of twelve-hour shifts worked, perhaps with the usual few hours off at some time during the day. Larger hospitals would usually have enough trained nurses to cover whatever work needed to be done, but again, it depended a great deal to what sort of hospital it was and whether it took the more acutely ill men.

As regards duties, the hospital could be viewed as a single ward in a general hospital, or a collection of wards. The trained nurse - 'Sister' - would be responsible for the general management of the ward/hospital, discipline and managing junior staff.

She may be the one to draw up staff rotas, though this might well fall to the Commandant. She would supervise and train her junior staff.

It was her job to maintain adequate supplies of dressings, medicines and laundry supplies (the quartermaster would also be involved in this).

She would take responsibility for giving out any medicines prescribed, doing the dressings or delegating any/some of them to a junior staff member who had the experience to do them.

She would oversee the diets, and would be present at the serving of lunch and supper.

She would be involved in the rehabilitation of men, perhaps doing massage and excercise.

She would liase with any visiting medical staff and accompany them on their rounds.

Life would probably follow that of a civil hospital; breakfast, hygiene, medicines, dressings, medical rounds, lunch, excercise/entertainments/, etc. I would view the trained nurse in exactly the same way as a civil hospital sister, just in slightly different surroundings.

Sue

[johnboy]

http://www.docstoc.c...Front-1914-1915

Diary of a Sister

[Guest flofrank]

Thank you all who have replied , you have been most helpful.

[Cherchezlafemme]

This 1891 article on hospital nursing and The Red Cross in War (1914) might help you piece together the typical daily routine.