37
onditions above described would largely prevent these
officers from carrying out their work efficiently.
In the rear, the Aray kedical Administration maintains
), a numb of surgical hospitals
base hospitals (
(
), and hospitals for special cases (orthopedio, etc.).
These hospitals are relatively better staffed than the field
hospitals, but the fact that there are altogether some 275
military hospitals with a total capacity of approximately
220,000 beds, including those at the front and the rear, and
realizing that not aor. tha one-third of China's six thousand
modern qualified physicians are on war service, it will be
ralized that only a few of these hospitals are properly
stuffed with doctors. Another reasons why there are so few
modern physicians in the army is the extremely low rate of pay.
Besides the bake hospitals, there are convalescent
hostels organized by the Central Wounded soldiers Administration
Recovered soldiers are sent to these hostels and from them to
Regimental Depots, where they are formed into "Honour Regiments"
and re-trained prior to their return to the front. Too often,
the evacuation of convalscents from the base hospitals is
hindered by the inefficiency of the army paymaster's office,
the soldiers refusing to leave until arrears of pay and wound
gratuities have been received. Occasionally the soldiers are
reluctant to exchange the relative case of the hospital for the
lesser conforts of the convalescent hostel. These defects arise
partly on account of the lose discipline exercised over wounded
soldiers and has the unfortunate effect of lengthening the
duration of hospitalization and restricting the number of beds
available for fresh casualties.
The situation with regard to nursing is as bad, if not
Tori :
that in the case of doctors. The lack of qualified
and trained nursing ersonnel is aggravated by the necessity of
appointing