'Mesopotamia Commission. Report of the Commission Appointed by Act of Parliament to Enquire into the Operations of War in Mesopotamia, together with a Special Report by Commander J Wedgwood, DSO, MP, and Appendices. London: HMSO, 1917.' [‎81v] (162/248)

'wounded were treated at the collecting station and
received the same attention as the British. The clearing
hospitals and field ambulances were also visited. It was
found that the latter were really acting as hospitals and
with equipment for 100 patients, were accommodating
300 or even more, in the emergency. As these units are
not equipped for so many patients, or to perform the
duties of clearing hospitals, there was necessarily some
discomfort; but the medical officers present worked
unceasingly to minimise this inconvenience and to make
their patients comfortable.
153. Fighting continued day by day, and on April 7th
and 9th attacks on the Sannaiyat position, on the left
bank of the Tigris, in which heavy casualties were incurred,
were repulsed. Progress continued to be made on the
right bank, but the medical conditions arising from this
continuous fighting call for no special comment save that,
on occasions, the lack of proper ambulance land transport
was noticeable. On April 17th an attack was made on
the Beit Aieesa position, on the right bank of the river.
The fighting was very severe, especially when a heavy
counter attack was made by the Turks. The firing was
then so heavy, that it was very difficult to collect the
wounded. Many lay all day in the Turkish trenches,
into which they had penetrated. The ground behind
these trenches was swept by fire, the Turks were sniping
the stretcher bearers, and after several of the latter had
been hit, all further attempts to move the wounded from
such situations were abandoned till nightfall. The
stretcher bearers had then to wade through a marsh
which was deep in places, but performed the task with
their accustomed devotion. We should like to take this
opportunity of calling attention to the good work done by
stretcher bearers throughout the campaign. The heroic
conduct of the men of the Indian Army Bearer Corps has
won the admiration of the whole force, and seems to
justify their being granted a higher status than that which
they enjoy at present.
154. The arrangements at Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. were similar to those
w'hich obtained in the earlier fighting, but the strain
on the establishments was greater as the casualties were
very heavy. Many of the field ambulances, indeed, were
accommodating for days at a time twice and thrice the
number of patients they were equipped to deal with.
155. The arrangements on the steamers, while still
leaving a great deal to be desired, showed a great advance,
the deficiencies apparent in March having to some extent
been made good. There was, however, still much room
for systematic improvement, as is evidenced by the
different conditions obtaining on different boats. Thus
“ P. 5,” one of the vessels employed, had cots for nearly
all lying down cases, the latrine accommodation was
good, there was no insufficiency of sweepers or bed-pans,
and the supply of food and comforts was satisfactory.
On the other hand, the “ P. 7 ” was very crowded and
short of trained personnel and comforts; while the
“ Medjidieh,” in addition to being overcrowded and not
well supplied with comforts, was short of food and
blankets.
156. The ineffectual effort to capture the Sannaiyat
position, which took place on April 22nd, marked the
termination of nearly three weeks’ continuous fighting,
designed to relieve the garrison of Kut. The medical
arrangements for this action were similar to those made
for the preceding engagements of the same month, and
the gradual but steady improvement observed in the
general medical conditions was fully maintained.
157. We think that the administrative and executive
medical officers deserve great credit for the successful
collection and evacuation of the large numbers of wounded
in the almost continuous fighting which took place during
this month. The casualties were very high, the available
resources in the way of accommodation, personnel and
supplies were often far from plentiful, and the difficulty
of securing river steamers was frequently considerable.
In spite of all these obstacles the wounded were, so far
as we have been able to ascertain, treated promptly and
adequately. Every effort was made to reduce discomfort
to a minimum, and the patients were evacuated expe
ditiously to Amara and Basra and thence to India. The
strain thrown upon the medical authorities will be the
more readily appreciated when it is realised that in the
month of April alone 5,747 sick and wounded were
evacuated to the base.
158. Supplementary considerations. Hospitals at Basra.
We have not, in our detailed examination of certain
phases of the campaign, discussed the treatment of the
sick and wounded in the hospitals at Amarah and Basra,
as we think it is more convenient to do so separately.
The hospitals at Basra have, generally speaking, been
well managed throughout. In the early stages of the
war there was undoubtedly some difficulty in securing
suitable food, but we think that complaints in regard
to dieting have been somewhat exaggerated. In April,
May and June there was considerable overcrowding, but
the consequent discomfort was much reduced by the
labour and energy of the staff. In the latter portion of
the campaign conditions improved considerably, and we
have ample testimony of the gratitude of numerous
patients for the care and excellent treatment which they
received in the British General Hospital. The intro
duction of Sisters of Queen Alexandra s Nursing Service
into this hospital, as also into some of the hospitals at
Amara, has added greatly to the comfort of the patients.
There are deficiencies in the way of buildings, electric
fans and personnel. These points have already been
referred to, but otherwise we think that there is little
room for unfavourable criticism, and we have every
reason to commend the medical administration of the
British General Hospital. The same observations apply
generally to the Indian General Hospital. V\ e think,
however, that the standard of comfort is not so high in
Indian as in British hospitals, and we consider that
efforts might be made to copy the excellent models
afforded by the Indian war hospitals in Bombay.
159. Hospitals at Amara. —The Amara hospitals have
laboured under great disadvantages. Some of the accom
modation is unsuitable, the hospitals are not fitted with
electric fans, and they have frequently been overcrowded,
particularly after heavy engagements up the Tigris. The
personnel has from time to time been depleted to meet
urgent demands at the front, and there has been occasional
delay in obtaining supplies, stores and appliances. In
spite of all these difficulties the officers of the hospitals
have done excellent work, for which they deserve great
praise. The administration of the Rawal Pindi Hospital
is specially worthy of commendation.
160. Hospitals at Bombay. —The accommodation of the
sick and wounded on their arrival in India is so essential
a part of the medical arrangements of the Mesopotamian
force that, though not strictly within our terms of refer
ence, we think it right to refer shortly to the matter. We
are influenced in doing this by the fact that, at the time
of our appointment, a substantial increase in the British
war hospital accommodation at Bombay was plainly
necessary. On April tls there was in Bombay but one
completed hospital of 500 beds for the accommodation
of British troops, and this hospital was poorly found. In
addition to this, provision had been made for 60 officers.
At Deolali, Poona, Karachi and Secunderabad there was
accommodation for 84 more patients, or a total of 644
beds. Other patients were distributed among the station
hospitals throughout India. Owing to the addition of a
British division to the force in Mesopotamia, mostly
composed of young soldiers with no experience of life
in the tropics, these preparations were clearly insufficient,
especially in view of the approaching hot weather. We
are glad to say that this danger was appreciated in time
and on our return to Bombay we were pleased to find
that in that city alone, four large new British war hos
pitals, accommodating 2,200 patients, had been pro
vided. Moreover, additional accommodation, to the
extent of 1,222 beds, had been prepared at Deolali,
Secunderabad and Poona, and further provision for
invalids had been made on a large scale throughout
India. In selected hill stations provision for 5,000 con
valescents was also being arranged.
161. The general standard of equipment at Bombay
has been immensely raised, so that the new war hospitals
there would bear favourable comparison with any similar
hospitals in the United Kingdom. It was indeed a
pleasure to visit such institutions as the Victoria,
“ Alexandra ” and “ Freeman Thomas ” hospitals. The
latter, which has been the special care of Her Excellency
Lady Willingdon, had been in preparation before the
time under review, but in the case of the other two,
business buildings were converted into splendidly-equipped
hospitals in less than two months.