Page 233 from Ethel Moir Diary, Vol 1

Category

Library Item

Item no

25261

Title

Page 233 from Ethel Moir Diary, Vol 1

Description

in the hospital at Krushevatz, which was under the care of Dr Inglis and Dr Hollway, the number of wounded under the greatest pressure rising to 1200. Patients were placed in the corridors, at first one man to one bed, but later two beds with three men in them. When there were no more bedsteads mattresses were placed on the floors.
Writing of these conditions, Dr Inglis said: - "We could not take away the men's uniforms, either in the magazine or corridors, for the weather was bitterly cold, and there was already a shortage of fuel. This fact, taken with the overcrowding and the condition of the men - fatigued, depressed, and underfed - made the possibility of an outbreak of typhus a very real danger. At the request of the director of the hospital, Major Nicolitch, we opened a small building in the grounds as an infectious diseases hospital, and he
appealed to the Austrians for the use of another building to relieve the overcrowding. 'There is no other building,' was the answer, though all the time the upper storey of the Prefecture was empty (the lower one was used as a store for Red Cross equipment, which they had taken from us without receipt), and the fact was brought to their notice.
But we soon realised that no help was to be expected from that quarter, and that we must help ourselves. So we improvised a bathroom in the corner of the Magazine, took over all the bathing arrangements for the hospital, set two French dis- infectors going with the help of a Russian and one of ourselves, who was something of a mechanic,

Artist / maker

Moir, Ethel

Date

1916

Size

20.4 x 16.0 cm

Type

Document

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Continued from Description :

and last, and most important point of all, we took over the laundry, and the hospital got clean linen.
We worked round the hospital, bathing and disinfecting every five days . . . Later, the director made over to us the whole downstairs flat of the hospital, with the room for dressings and the medical ward, as well as the little hospital for infectious cases, the magazine, the laundry, and the sanitation. Perhaps the most important department was the sanitation. We had not an expert amongst us, but when Dr Hutchinson's unit passed through, her sanitary inspector, Miss Gordon, came up to inspect us, and was pleased with the result. When we arrived that hospital compound was a truly terrible place - the sights and smells beyond description.
We dug into the ground the rubbish, emptied the overflowing cesspools, built incinerators, and cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned. That is a Briton's job all over the world, and our three untrained British girl orderlies took to it like ducks to water. It was not the pleasantest or easiest work in the world; but they did it, and did it magnificently.
The funeral is to take place to-morrow to the Dean Cemetery. A service is to be held in St Giles at two o'clock.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Events > Wars > Wars

Events > Wars > World wars

Healthcare and welfare > Healthcare and welfare facilities > Scottish Women's Hospitals

People > Health and safety > Nurses