War Surgery and Medicine
Number Required
Number Required
Consideration of the volume of work done (as shown above) indicates that the technical staff necessary in a General Hospital laboratory is at least:
(1) |
Technician-in-Charge: This man should be properly qualified and experienced. |
(2) |
Technician for general bacteriology. |
(3) |
Technician for faeces and urine examinations. |
(4) |
Technician for biochemistry—a properly trained biochemist. |
(5) |
Technician for media making and section cutting. |
(6) |
Technician for haematology. |
(7) |
‘Trainee’ or general duties man for washing up, sterilising, etc. |
(8) |
Spare Technician: At base hospitals each man was entitled to 1½ days off duty per week and to two annual leave periods of 14 days; as a technician cannot be replaced by a general duties man a ‘spare’ is an essential. |
(9) |
Transfusion Orderly, if blood transfusion work and intravenous solution preparation is undertaken by the laboratory. |
This suggested staff of 8 (plus transfusion orderly = 9) for dealing with approximately 2000 specimens per month may be contrasted with the Christchurch Hospital staff of 17 (plus 3 transfusion staff=20) for dealing with approximately 3000 specimens per month.
In 1940 the first General Hospitals went to the Middle East with each a Pathologist and each one partly trained technician (private). It was soon found that the RAMC War Establishment provided for 600 and 900-bed hospitals laboratory assistants as follows:
Sergeant technician | 1 |
Private technician | 1 |
and this establishment appears to have been that of 2 NZEF in 1942, as under the capitation agreement with the British Government the 2 NZEF WE was tied to the British. The difficulty of staff shortage in laboratories was overcome by ‘attaching’ nursing orderlies (privates) ‘for training’. Thus in August 1943, 1 NZ General Hospital (average daily bed state over 800) had three ‘attached for training’ and a ‘transfusion orderly’. Even this staff necessitated much ‘overtime’ and night work in the many busy periods.
This ‘attachment for training’ was later prohibited, resulting in a report to DMS by the Pathologist 1 NZ General Hospital (October 1943) indicating the work undertaken and staff required much as above, and suggesting an establishment of:
600 Beds | 900 Beds | 1200 Beds | |
Sergeant | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Technicians | 3 | 5 | 6 |
(exclusive of orderlies for transfusion work and for ‘area work’ if undertaken).
In November 1943 the War Establishment was amended to:
600 Beds | 900 Beds | |
Sergeant | 1 | 1 |
Corporal | 1 | 1 |
Privates | 2 | 3 |
which was a step in the right direction.
page 746