First aid in the Royal Navy 1943 / [Admiralty].

Date:
1943
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First aid in the Royal Navy 1943 / [Admiralty]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    INTRODUCTION _ The objects of first aid, from the medical point of view, are to save life, relieve pain and to prevent injuries becoming worse. It is concerned only with temporary measures until more complete medical attention is available. From the point of view of the Service, its purpose is to maintain the fighting efficiency of H.M. Ships by helping to return casualties to duty with the least possible disability and in the shortest time. All routine drills and exercises in the Royal Navy are designed to form a training for war and the practising of first aid parties is no exception. Therefore, the teaching in this book is arranged to enable you to deal particularly with war hazards and injuries. It is a helpful comparison to think of first aid as the damage control and salvage of personnel ; with this in mind you can easily see that just as you have become capable of using the shipwright’s tools or a collision mat when the ship is damaged, so you must have the training to carry out first aid when men are wounded. In many actions in the past and even during this present war, it has often been a popular belief among ships’ companies that first aid is only to be given by First Aid Parties, and that wounded men must be taken to Medical Distributing Stations at once. This is not true. It has been proved again and again that wounded men are best treated where they fall. In order to do this every individual officer and rating must be able to perform first aid, combined with a sure confidence in himself and also in the usefulness of what he is doing. Everyone must accept this as part of his duty, realising that the treatment of casualties cannot always be left to the Medical Department alone. First aid tins or haver- sacks are distributed throughout H.M. Ships at action stations and you must know what is in them and how to use their contents. First- aid on the spot not only prevents injuries and pain becoming worse but also avoids taking fit men away from more important duties in order to provide transport. Thus, there is no interference with ammunition and repair parties and the fighting power of the ship is not slowed down. Although this book gives you knowledge which you will want most of all while at war, the rules that it contains are just as useful for peacetime ; so you need to know its contents for the accidents which may occur then. © Objects of first aid are to— 1. Save life 2. Relieve pain 3. Prevent injuries getting worse by treatment on the spot. |