FIELD AMBULANCE

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 35, 11 February 1933, Page 5

FIELD AMBULANCE

ANNUAL-TRAINING CAMP

j The annual earnp of the 2nd; Field Ambtilance. New Zealand Medical' Corps, held at Trentham under the command of Lieut.-Colonel P. W. Kemp, M.C, concluded, last week. The unit entered camp on the afternoon of Saturday, 28th January, and as there wera no parades on the-Sunday .with the exception of church parade early in the morning, the trainees were afforded an excellent opportunity of comfortably settling down in the quarters allotted to them.

The first four working days were spent ion what; is really only a small portion of the work which a qualified ambulance man must know, but undoubtedly the ex- ! ercises and . demonstrations performed were of interest to "all ranks in attend- ! ance. These included, in addition to such foundation subjects as first aid and stretcher exercises, pitching of operating and other tents, the use of horses for the transport of casualties, and work in connection with both horse and motor ambulances. The unit's motor ambulance, which is of/the six-wheeled pattern and is fitted with two gear-boxes giving it eight forward-speeds and enabling it to negotiate a gradient' of one in three, is of the latest design and proved'of great use and-interest.. The curriculum of the Field ■ Ambulance also includes sanitation and hygiene,, and'consequently opportunity .was. taken for -a- demonstration explaining ; the ■ method adopted to • test the purity of water, for • drinking and the means,employed to render impure water suitable, for this purpose. _ To acquaint the men with the .precautions which should be taken to guard against' injury' by. poisonous gases, each trainee was 'issued with a box respirator of the^most recent design. Instruction wafc given in the employment: of ■ this very .useful apparatus/ arid, in ■ addition, the men were, practised in the presence of tear gas. This,, of course, added extra interest to- :an already, interesting ■ exercise.. '.',... During, the camp the Aesistant-Direc-ot of Medical Service, Lieutenant-Colonel F. T.Bowerh'ank, .outlined a scheme which would be usefulin the event of disaster overtaking a-large centre. Particu : lar stress was laid upon the important duties which would fall upon the Medical Corps should such an occasion occur. The speaker pointed out that the extensive training afforded to men in the ■ unit would especially fit them for this service, and, even apart from other considerations, would be the cause of casting upon them medical duties more important and responsible than those which any other association (with the exception of the organised medical practitioners) could be expected to assume. Friday was given over to a" field, day •which was held at Judgeford. The men were transported by motor to and from the scene of activities. Work, consisted of evacuating : injured from the open country to the regimental aid post. This involved! crossing • fences and rough country, and passing through a smoke screen, At • the regimental aid post urgent inquiries received attention, and from hen the patients were moved to the advanced dressing station, which was about a mile distant. Wheeled stretcher and motot ambulance were used for the transport More complete attention was given to th< casualties when they arrived at this sta tion. Both the regimental aid postanc the advanced dressing station were com pletely-equipped. The latter, in additior to a reception tent and : other appurten ances, possessed an operating theatre complete in every detail. This theatre which was set. up entirely by the men may be taken as an example of the im portant work carried. out by the unit Instruments and dressings -were arranqe< in neat array, sterilisers were working and, in fact, the only thing missing wai a real patient to repose on the tabl which occupied the central place in thi operating room. The General Officer Commanding Mjor-General W. I/. H. Sinclair-Burgess D.8.0., who yiisted the camp during th period of training, paid a very warm tri bnte to the fine work being done! The unit has now commenced its regii lar parades for 1933, and as the roll i not yet up to full strength there is a; opportuuity for keen men to join uj Parades are held regularly at 7.30 p.m. o alternate Wednesdays, while on the ii tervening Wednesdays an n.c.o.'s elas is conducted. This class is open t n.c.ofs and air others desiring to sit fc promotion. Information concerning tt Ambulance may be obtained from ii office in the Garrison Hall, Buckle stree at which place enrolment forms are als available. AH members of the Ambulanc are _ provided with complete • uniform an equipment free of, charge.

A- wireless set has been installed in one of, the cars owned by the Prince of "Wales, so that he can listen to mu6ic while motoring. There is also an extra loud speaker for.the chaufieur'B use while waiting. ■, ...