CAPTIVE SURGEON IN HONG KONG
189
of men employed on duties connected with the storage, preparation, cooking and distribution of food showed losses of the same order as those displayed by men employed on other work.
Distribution of food
Until our situation stabilised towards the end of 1944 on a ration strength of about 200 patients and staff, the method of distributing cooked food caused many difficulties. After our nursing sisters left, the nursing orderlies in charge of wards carried on in the traditional manner, drawing the ward entitlement of food from the kitchen and serving the appropriate portion to each patient on a full diet. An even distribution was a skill which some of these young men did not readily acquire, and there were endless complaints of maldistribution in wards. After food prepared for the meal had been issued from the kitchen, none remained there from which to make up shortages.
The first solution was to appoint in each ward a patient whose standing with his fellows was good, and he was given the duty of drawing and distributing the ward ration. This man was not required necessarily to have senior service rank. For example, one was a Dutch naval petty officer, another was a well-known member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, some were British and some Canadians. These men eventually came to exercise power and to maintain discipline in wards, and they were of great value to medical officers in charge of wards, to the sergeant major, and to me.
Even this measure, however, did not completely restore confidence, and eventually wards and messing units drew their dry rice from the store according to the numbers in their messes into their own containers, in which it was then cooked and served. This measure brought about a further improvement, but it was not until the era of reduced numbers and of stability, for the most part in health and improved rations, that the problem was really overcome.
Officers on the staff had their own mess throughout. They were nine in number in Bowen Road, reduced however to six when we moved to Kowloon. In Bowen Road, this mess had a tiny electric stove with two rings in a small adjacent annexe, which in peace time had served the orderly medical officer when he was resident on duty. The mess was under the charge of a very efficient sergeant of the Royal Scots, Robert Lockie, who had been wounded and had been
CAPTIVE SURGEON IN HONG KONG
189
of men employed on duties connected with the storage, preparation, cooking and distribution of food showed losses of the same order as those displayed by men employed on other work.
Distribution of food
Until our situation stabilised towards the end of 1944 on a ration strength of about 200 patients and staff, the method of dis- tributing cooked food caused many difficulties. After our nursing sisters left the nursing orderlies in charge of wards carried on in the tradional manner, drawing the ward entitlement of food from the kitchen and serving the appropriate portion to each patient on a full diet. An even distribution was a skill which some of these young men did not readily acquire and there were endles complaints of maldistribution in wards. After food prepared for the meal had been issued from the kitchen none remained there from which to make up shortages. The first solution was to appoint in each ward a patient whose standing with his fellows was good, and he was given the duty of drawing and distributing the ward ration. This man was not required necessarily to have senior service rank. For example one was a Dutch naval petty officer, another was a well known member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, some were British and some Canadians. These men eventually came to exercise power and to maintain disipline in wards and they were of great value to medical officers in charge of wards, to the sergeant major and to me. Even this measure however, did not completely restore confidence and eventually wards and messing units drew their dry rice from the store according to the numbers in their messes into their own containers in which it was then cooked and served. This measure brought about a further improvement but it was not until the era of reduced numbers and of stability for the most part in health and improved rations that the problem was really overcome.
Officers on the staff had their own mess throughout. They were nine in number in Bowen Road, reduced however to six when we moved to Kowloon. In Bowen Road this mess had a tiny electric stove with two rings in a small adjacent annexe which in peace time had served the orderly medical officer when he was resident on duty. The mess was under the charge of a very efficient sergeant of the Royal Scots, Robert Lockie who had been wounded and had been
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