INVALIDED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 234, 27 June 1919, Page 7

INVALIDED SOLDIERS

CONVALESCENCE OFTEN PROLONGED'

GENERAL M'GAVIN'S VIEWS

The new Director-General of Medical Services (Brigadier-General' D. J. M'Gavin, D.5.0.) made sonic references to invalided soldiers at a Now Zealand Club luncheon yesterday. The preceding speaker, Brigadier-General -• G. S. Richardson, had appealed for sympathetic consideration for the men who had suffered injury in the field, and' General M'Gavin nientioned the some matter from a medical standpoint. . The work of the military branch in connection with tho war was, being brought to a close, said tho DirectorGeneral, of Medical Services; the work of tho medical branch in New Zealand had not yet reached its;.maximum, and would continue for at least two years. The treatment of wounds during tho war had placed a very great 6train upon the medical men, and had required the study of many difficult problems. Now methods and processes ..had been required to be evolved, and medical; officers had to be specially trained for the new work. A fact that had emerged was the slow Tecovery from many forms of' war. injury. Wounded men often required treatment for eighteen months cr two years before their recovery could be called complete. The invalided men were entitled to special consideration during their prolonged periods of convalescence. They were not normal, and they could not fairly, bo expected to, act normally-on ajl occasions. ' They needed an ; extension, of .the. sympathy ; that hafd been given them bv the nation during the war, when the glow ,of patriotism wns strong. It was true that theru were wasters' to bo found' in the' Army, .but. the percentage, was no higher than) among tho civilians, from whom, the Army ;.'was ' recruited. Per- . haps the ..•offences, of soldiers were more conspicuous. because they were punished in. a .military way.. .But.it'was a very ■serious accusation and a very unjust oneto say that soldiers were necessarily. demoralised. They were not demoralised' as a body. .They had learned much: in; :th3 way of comradeship and co-ordina-tion ' that' would : be of great value, to them when tliey returned to civilian life. The useful things 1 they had learned really were or much more importance' than I the introduction of a few new ndjectives I into the Enzlish language., ■.'..■•