Medical treatment and the chain of evacuation Flashcards

All 9 cards in this deck

How many stretcher bearers were there per company, and what effect did this have?

Only four, so the injured sometimes had to wait a long time for attention.

What were the four main stages of the chain of evacuation, in order?

Regimental Aid Post, Dressing Station (field ambulance), Casualty Clearing Station, Base Hospital.

Give two features of a dressing station on the Western Front.

It was a short distance behind the trenches, often in abandoned buildings or tents, and treated minor injuries so men could return to fighting.

Where was a Casualty Clearing Station placed and what did it deal with?

Close to the front but just outside the range of enemy artillery; it dealt with serious injuries, including surgery.

What was the underground hospital at Arras?

A hospital set up in the tunnels and quarries under Arras, ready for casualties from the British attack of April 1917.

What was the role of nurses at dressing stations and casualty clearing stations?

From 1915 nurses worked at some dressing stations, and at CCSs they increasingly assisted in surgical and medical care.

True or false? Base hospitals were located near the coast so the wounded could be shipped back to Britain.

True. Base hospitals were near the French and Belgian coast, close to the ports.

What was the RAMC?

The Royal Army Medical Corps: the British Army's medical service. Its doctors, orderlies and stretcher bearers ran the chain of evacuation and gave most of the medical care.

Give two features of the underground hospital at Arras.

Any two: room for about 700 patients; an operating theatre; piped water and electric light; it lay only a short distance behind the front line.