Navy Medical Service

MEDICAL SERVICE, NAVY. In the British navy, medi cal requirements at the present day are provided for by a special department of the Admiralty which is placed under the admin istration of the medical director general,—an officer selected from the list of surgeon rear-admirals. As head of his department, he is responsible to the Board of Admiralty for the efficiency both in regard to the personnel and material of all medical details ; he superintends the professional and administrative details of naval medical establishments and the practice of medical officers, and further advises the Board on all questions of "disability assess ments" arising from invaliding and claims for compensation.

Conditions of Service.

Until the outbreak of the World War, officers of the Royal Naval Medical Service were entered by competitive examination, but since the conclusion of peace— owing to the lack of applicants—these examinations have not been resumed, and for the time being medical officers are entered for temporary service, engaging for three years, with the option of turning over to the permanent service if they are considered suitable, but it is anticipated that the recently innovated facilities for post-graduate study, together with the extra pay for officers who specialize, will attract a sufficiently large number of young medical men to enable entry by examination to be resumed. Par ticulars concerning the conditions of service, etc., are published in the official Navy List or can be obtained by application to the medical department of the Admiralty.

Since 1919 the ranks held by medical officers have been approxi mated to those held by the executive branch, and are :—on entry, surgeon lieutenant ; after six years satisfactory service, surgeon lieutenant-commander ; and after a further period of six years sur geon commander, provided the necessary professional examination has been passed. The more senior ranks of surgeon captain and surgeon rear-admiral are reached by selection.

Except the smallest, all British men-o'-war carry a medical offi cer, battleships and certain cruisers having two. Apart from his purely medical and surgical duties, it is regarded as an important function of the medical officer to protect the health of the ship's company, and to suggest to his commanding officer any measures considered necessary for this purpose. He must make himself

acquainted with the conditions of health prevailing in the ports which his ship is likely to visit, and veto the introduction into the ship of any water or food which could possibly carry disease. It is also his duty to give instruction in "first aid" and "personal hygiene," especially in regard to the dangers arising from venereal disease and the abuse of alcohol.

Equipment and Hospitals.

The special accommodation which is allocated for the sick in all H.M. ships is termed the sick bay. This place—in spite of the fact that all serious cases are, for their own comfort transferred to hospital on the earliest occasion—is fully equipped for the comfort of patients and for all medical and surgical contingencies. For the general safety of wounded in action, spaces are reserved in the most protected parts of the ship, these spaces are designated "medical distributing sta tions." Each of the principal naval ports has a naval hospital. These establishments conform in every way to the most modern and scientifically conceived requirements of medicine, surgery and hygiene.

Afloat, the nursing is carried out by the sick berth nursing staff, a highly trained and efficient body of men. They also carry out nursing duties in the naval hospitals, but in addition in these establishments there are lady nurses belonging to Queen Alex andra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.

The Royal Naval Dental Service was inaugurated in 1920 and is supervised by a dental officer of surgeon captain's rank, attached to the staff of the medical director general.

The World War.

Except under abnormal climatic conditions, and during the epidemics of influenza, the health of the navy was remarkably good during the World War. This satisfactory state of affairs can be attributed to : (a) The careful supervision of the personnel by the medical officers and .the strict quarantine precautions enforced. (b) The care exercised concerning food, water and victualling arrangements, both in ships and establish ments. (c) Preventive inoculation against enteric fever. (d) The comparative isolation of the fleets lessening the chance of venereal infection and the abuse of alcohol. (e) Lectures given to the men on personal hygiene. (f) Measures taken to lessen the monotony of ship life in war time.