New Zealand Medical Services in Middle East and Italy
Field Surgical Units
Field Surgical Units
These had become a regular part of the medical service, attached either to a CCS or an MDS of a field ambulance. Their personnel and equipment had been standardised but was not entirely similar in the First and Eighth Armies. The operating theatres varied from specially constructed trucks to different types of tents. The most popular consisted of two EPIP tents joined end-ways. Lighting by separate units was obtained if at all possible, though in Eighth Army the unit of the parent field ambulance was generally used. Suction of some kind, usually improvised, was a necessary part of the equipment. Sterile guards were difficult to keep in regular supply and rubber or jaconette guards were substituted, except for special cases such as abdominals.