Address delivered on the occasion of the presentation of prizes at the Army Medical School at Netley, February 1st, 1896 / by Richard Quain.

  • Quain, Richard, 1800-1887.
Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Address delivered on the occasion of the presentation of prizes at the Army Medical School at Netley, February 1st, 1896 / by Richard Quain. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Learning from these recent Egyptian campaigns what can be accomplished, notwithstanding an unfavourable climate and season, and great fatigue, by principles based on scientific knowledge and applied with practical skill, we turn to the important question how such results can be maintained. In the first place, we must give credit to the constitution of the Medical Department of the Army, to which has now been assigned complete control of its own work, subject only to the General in chief command. This independence, gentle- men, involves grave responsibility, which every medical officer entering the Army must assume, with the full knowledge that a failure of duty on his part will cast blame upon the whole. To insure the permanence of our recent success, every effort should be made to induce a high class of medical men to enter the service, and this result can only be accomplished by maintaining a high rank for the medical officer, by ensuring a due recognition of the value of his services, and, lastly, by taking care that his special education, such as that afforded here, is made even still more thorough and extended, especially, it may be, by a more prolonged course of instruction. The adoption of these recommendations may entail additional ex- pense, but such expense sinks into insignificance beside the enormous losses in men and money which it would assuredly prevent. Nor should it be lost sight of that in a small army like ours, dependent for its maintenance on voluntary enlist- ment, it is of the greatest importance to satisfy the recruit that he will be well cared for, and that no pains will be spared to diminish his risk of death and suffering from disease. I fear, gentlemen, that I have already exhausted your patience, but I would still desire to dwell for a moment on one or two points which more intimately concern those who are leaving here to-day. Placed as you often will be in positions of doubt and difficulty, you will do well to act for your patients as you would wish to be dealt with yourselves; for this course.