Remarks on army surgeons and their works / by Charles Alexander Gordon.

  • Gordon, C. A. (Charles Alexander), Sir, 1821-1899.
Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on army surgeons and their works / by Charles Alexander Gordon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    79/132 (page 61)
    remedy these defects,” he observed, “ that Mr. Gunning and myself determined on appointing staff-surgeons, wlio are mostly wanted for the more important and difficult operations, to pay less regard to seniority than our predecessors had done, hy selecting for those appointments active and well-educated, although younger men.” Regarding tests of the knowledge of candidates,—they were required to pass the usual surgical examination at the London College of Surgeons, where the surgeon-general was present; and subsequently a medical examination before the Army Medical Board, previous to obtaining appointments as hospital mates.* The great John Hunter had interfered to obtain a removal of the obnoxious and very unfair regulation ot the Col- lege of Surgeons to which allusion has just been made. Up to the year 1799, although, as we have seen, the department was administered by a board, there was no regular office estab- lishment ; but an allowance of one hundred pounds per annum, and ten shillings per day, was given to the inspector ot regimental hospitals to cover all expenses. After the board had been dis- continued, the office establishment at first consisted of one clerk, who was also acting secretary, and two junior clerks,-[- and to show the press of work that devolved upon the director- general, it may be mentioned that at the time considerable armaments were being despatched, such as those for Handers under the Duke of York and Earl of Moira; for Toulon, Corsica, ]\Iinorca, Portugal; for the West Indies under Sir Charles Grey, Sir Adam Williamson, and afterwards Sir Ralph Abercrombie, for the Cape of Good Hope, the Coast of France, &c. The whole of the financial work connected with general hospitals and depots of medicines, was then transacted by the Board (p. 137, 64, 150); there having been apparently little notice taken of professional details. Hor did matters, in this respect, much change, until after Sir James M'Grigor had received the appointment of Director-General. In 1798 the regimental hospitals were declared to be under the immediate direction of their respective surgeons, subject, nevertheless, to the general superintendence of the Inspector of Regimental Hospitals. In the same warrant it was directed that assistant-surgeons should be taken from the hospital assistants, and surgeons from assistant-surgeons. We have already seen that among other improvements effected by Dr. RoUo in connection with Army Hospital administration was the adoption in the Ordnance Department of a system of preserving statistics of disease, which had been shortly before * Keate’s Observation.s, p. 149. t Observation.^ on the Fifth Report, pp. 3—5. F 2