I conceive it to be practically impossible to serve 4 wards, as proposed at Netley, viz., of 9 beds each, with
- 1 Head Nurse,
- 4 Orderlies.
For, as has been said, one bad case in each ward, makes this economy as unmanageable as nine.
(8.) Hospital Wards in the Army little else than Barrack-Rooms at present.
(8.) A ward in a Military Hospital now may often be little else than a barrack-room, with an Inspection by a Medical Officer twice a day. It is designed to make it by the new Regulations into a place where the sick must be and always will be suitably attended. But this cannot be done by such a scheme as—
| 1 Female Head Nurse | ⎫ ⎬ ⎭ | to | ⎧ ⎨ ⎩ | 50 Patients, in (say) |
| 6 Orderlies | 6 Netley Wards; |
though this attendance would be more than sufficient for 50 cases in one ward; but such a ward is considered in a sanitary sense too large. Two wards of 30 beds each on the same floor would be efficiently served by such a Staff, however; and there would be no sanitary objection.
(9.) Regulation as to 1 Orderly to 10 Patients requires modifying.
(9.) The Regulation number of one Orderly to ten patients therefore requires modifying. Practically it is broken every day and in the extraordinary manner above mentioned, which gives the most critical cases to be attended by the rawest hands.
(10.) One Orderly should be the Frotteur.