Under the red crescent : being surgical experiences and observations as an ambulance surgeon in Bulgaria during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 / by Robert Pinkerton.

  • Pinkerton, Robert, M.B.
Date:
1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Under the red crescent : being surgical experiences and observations as an ambulance surgeon in Bulgaria during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 / by Robert Pinkerton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    M I ! to tlie doctor sliouKl be so thorouglily excluded -ui hospitals. Its allowance, under delinito i ' i- tioiis a-s tu time and ] ■ there is little doubt would i viuiiL uiHiiy, aii l tliiit, too, \. .1 interfering in any way with the comfort of uon-sinokers ; while the fact of its being allowed would prevent its use in a surivptitious manner, with its ' ■ Ic of fire. However tliis may be, there are no I r. • ' ' ' its usefulness and almost necessity as pvi; L . : .. ^ . . . .res. There are still many intertvsting points which I sliould like to have touched upon, but I feel I liave already trespassed ritly 'upon your j' , so will conclude by referring \jLi .i v to ' 'ble work > i uid to the wounded, conducted by Lady Stra . during this war. One of the greatest diHiculties we had to ad with, in our tn-aUnent of the woundc<l, was the ahnost entire absence of nursing. There were soldiers, no doubt, to attend and watch the woiinded, but you could not 0- *■ ' of the wounded. Avell intentioned and kindly t v .T\ < Avn< TIM! unless liy a most vairue and g ; '- ' ly Strangford set herself the task of .showing the vital importance of good trained nursing, which could intelligently carry out the surgeon's directions, and thus aid most cthciently the patient's recovery. How T- • • 1. in her private hospitals, assisted by her staff o; succeeded in showing a result, in tlie comfort of her patients and their chances of recovery, that was utterly unapproachable in the best and most carefully conducted hospitals, whore there was only the usual male nursing, any one of the many who have had the pleasure of visiting her hospitnl ' '1 nl uTtdantiy testify. Women arc incomparably better a . ; i physically and morally, for the duties of nursing the sick than men, and trained female nurses are simply invaluable to the surgeon. Their aid cannot well be r ' liable on the battle field, but there is no reason . .,1 not be ready to hand immediately to the rear of the ti_ , ,ig, and after the battle. We naturally feel proud of the fact that it is our own countrywomen who have been first in this blessed and heroic work, and while they may fairly claim the honour of leading the van of the fair and r ' ' V of aid to the wounded in war, it must be no little , 11 to them ;t the heart of women in all other . , . .. s quickly T' ^ led in sympathetic action, and that all have combined with one accord to lay the gratitude and admiration of the civilized world at the feet of that illustrious veteran in this grand work, Florence Nightingale.