Royal Army Medical Corps

 

Today, the 15 November 2024, marks the end of a British institution that has lasted over a hundred years, and yet does not seem to have had a mention in the media. Even the Wikipedia entry for the RAMC makes no mention of it’s end as yet.

The Royal Army Medical Corps was formed in 1898. Since then the RAMC has attended to the health of Army personnel through peacetime and numerous conflicts, in the UK and throughout the world. It’s members have won 27 Victoria Crosses including two of only three recipients ever to win it twice.

It has undergone many changes. Of nearly forty military hospitals throughout the world not one remains. The last one, Princess Mary’s Hospital in Akrotiri closed in 2013. My own son was born at the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital, part of the Cambridge Military Hospital, which, despite it’s name, was located in Aldershot.

The Army obviously is not going without it’s own dedicated medical services. The RAMC is being amalgamated with the Royal Army Dental Corps and the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps to form the new Royal Army Medical Services.

The thousands of us who have served with the RAMC over the years are sad to see it go, and wish it’s successor all success.

DZ. Belize 1988

Drinking on duty

 

DZ was interested to read this article about a nurse who was struck off the Nursing register for consuming alcohol at work.

Now, I’m not going to condone or defend her conduct. Drinking on duty is most definitely frowned upon for medical and other professionals in the UK and I think that that is understandable.

But it wasn’t always so.

My first ever job as a pre registration houseman was at an inner city hospital. There was a pub literally next door. It was not at all unusual for entire teams of doctors on duty to take advantage of the odd quiet spell and meet up in the pub for a beer. The landlord graciously allowed doctors to use his personal landline phone (There were no celphones in those days) to contact the hospital when they were bleeped. There was even a suggestion that a hospital phone be laid on for this purpose, but though considered, it did not materialise. But the management were perfectly aware of, and unconcerned about the practice.

And then there was Christmas. Through the year grateful patients would often donate small gifts to the staff when they went home. The two commonest gifts were chocolates, or a bottle of some alcoholic beverage.

It was remarkable how quickly a box of chocolates could disappear in the presence of nurses. Some things don’t change. But alcohol was locked away. At Christmas it would come out, and a small number of bottles would be available in the sister’s office for ward staff and doctors to sample. Again this was common knowledge, and tolerated.

Not by everyone it has to be said. One teetotal ultra religious consultant one year took all the bottles on his ward and emptied them down the sink!

And in France, until relatively recently, wine was available to hospital staff having lunch in the hospital cafeteria. This now appears to be coming to an end however.

DZ will certainly confess that throughout his career, when on call from home he would often have a beer or a wine, though always careful to stay well below the driving limit.

In all my years I never saw anyone abuse the privilege. I never once saw anyone drunk on duty.