4. The Egyptian Red Cross Hospital at Cairo.

(Visited on January 4, 1917.)

The Egyptian Red Cross, under the presidency of His Highness Prince Fuad Pasha, being anxious to help its co-religionists, founded in March, 1915, a hospital for sick and wounded prisoners of war. This hospital is under the sole management of the Turkish Red Cross, which is in touch with the British authorities through Dr. Keatinge, Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo.

Sanitary Staff.—All the hospital doctors are Egyptian. In addition to the doctor-in-chief, Dr. Abbas Bey Helmey, two doctors, three surgeons, and one druggist live in the hospital.

Consulting doctors come from the town when sent for to treat nose, ear and eye troubles. A Cairo specialist also places his X-ray apparatus at the service of the hospital patients. The matron is an American, and has three English nurses under her.

Thirty-two orderlies do the ward work.

Accommodation.—The Egyptian Red Cross Hospital is installed in an old palace of Omar-Pasha Lufti, situated in a large garden, which is very shady and well kept. The dimensions of the wards assure easy circulation of air and perfect ventilation. As the building was not designed to serve its present purpose, the various staffs are somewhat scattered, but this difficulty has been got over in a most practical manner. A huge corridor gives communication between the wards, which are usually 23 feet square and 26 feet high. The large wards considerably exceed these measurements, and their tasteful decoration gives them a characteristic style. On the first floor, the rooms for the consumptive patients measure 16 by 16 by 13 feet—a very good cubical allowance for the four beds in each. The floor is of large flag-stones. Most of the rooms command the garden and a courtyard planted with trees. The building occupied by the guard is quite separate from the hospital. Electricity is used throughout the buildings.

Bedding.—The iron bedsteads, painted with white ripolin, are separated from one another by pedestal tables. The spring mattress, stuffed mattress, sheets and pillows are in very sound condition. There is no limit set to the number of blankets allowed. The beds are covered with pretty blue and white quilts, with the Red Cross in the middle. This quite recent innovation has a very pretty effect.

Food.—The commissariat is arranged by contract with a head cook. The menus are drawn up by the doctors according to the diet prescribed. We tasted the day's food and found it excellent. All provisions examined by us were of good quality and carefully overlooked. The kitchen, with its well-fitted ranges and polished utensils, struck us favourably. The cooking and attendance is done by persons engaged by the chef.

Each man is provided with two bowls of tinned copper and a drinking cup. All invalids get sweetened tea twice a day. Officers may choose tea or coffee. The following is the hospital dietary:

FOR OFFICERS.

ORDINARY DIET.

MILK DIET.

FEVER DIET.

On Sunday and Thursday mutton is replaced by game. On the same two days a course of sweetened rice and macaroni is substituted for fruit. The ration of Arab bread is 780 grammes for ordinary diet; that of European bread 450 grammes. The proportion of other articles is equally liberal.

Clothing.—The sick men's garments are consigned to a storehouse, and are replaced by 2 nightshirts, a hospital jacket with a hood, and a pair of slippers.

Hygiene.—Drinking water is drawn from the town main and filtered before use. There is an ample installation of lavatories with running water, baths with hot and cold douches, and Turkish baths. Turkish latrines have been fitted in the annexes of the palace. Natives do the laundry work and ironing.

Special Quarters.—The Red Cross Hospital is provided with a spacious, well-lighted theatre for operations, and all the necessary apparatus. In a neighbouring ward a powerful fumigating stove, built by natives after a French model, enables instruments and dressings to be completely sterilised. Since the introduction of this perfected method of sterilisation cases of infection and erysipelas have entirely disappeared from the hospital, and post-operation mortality has been reduced to barely one quarter per cent.

There is a laboratory devoted to summary analyses; more complete chemical or bacteriological analyses are carried out in the town institution. The dispensary is well supplied, containing all the most modern medicaments.

Six wards are reserved for tuberculous cases, who have their own special nurses. Such consumptives as are not confined to bed pass most of the day in one of the palace gardens which is assigned to them.

One ward is occupied by wounded officers; another by the non-commissioned officers. Two more wards are set apart for patients suffering from dysentery. Operation cases are assembled in a special chamber adjoining the theatre. Three comfortable English hospital tents erected in the garden serve as accommodation for convalescents who have to vacate their beds in the palace when an unexpected influx of sick or wounded prisoners takes place. All the wards are clean and well kept; at the head of each bed is a medical chart detailing the illness and the temperature.

Sickness.—Since March 17, 1915, the date of its foundation, up to the day of our visit, the Egyptian Red Cross Hospital has treated 2,245 wounded or sick prisoners.

There are at the present time 149 prisoners under treatment, 8 Ottoman officers and 141 soldiers, distributed as follows:

Surgical cases (wounds): 66; among them 13 invalids and 6 who have undergone amputation and have been detained a long time in the hospital.

Internal ailments: 38; we may mention among the most serious cases of this kind noticed by us, 4 suffering from bilious haemoglobinurea, all from Bagdad; 6 from dysentery, anaemic and enfeebled patients; 4 from chronic nephritis.

Eye affections: 25.

Consumptives: 20.

Which make up the total of 149 cases.

Among the officers under treatment we may mention: 1 wounded right knee, 1 scalp wound, 1 compound fracture of the thigh, 1 neck wound, 1 bullet wound in the chest, 1 bullet wound in the face, all recent cases coming from El Arish.

Deaths:

Cause of Death.Number of Deaths in 1915.Number of Deaths in 1916.
Surgical cases3017
Pleurisy25
Dysentery819
Typhoid11
Pericarditis12
Pneumonia311
Pulmonary tuberculosis—26
Intestinal tuberculosis—21
Nephritis—5
Gangrene—1
Hepatitis—1
Pernicious anaemia—1
Total45110

The dead were buried in the Musulman cemetery with military honours, such comrades as were well enough attending the ceremony.